\
SAMPLER, 1829
From the Pioneer Museum
^HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCHES
MADE BY THE
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society
Vol. XXXVIII
LANSING, MICHIGAN
WYNKOOP^HALLKNBKCK CRAWFORD CO., STATE PRINTERS
1912
Published by Authority of
BOARD OF STATE AUDITORS
2,500 Copies Printed
CONTENTS.
Page
Sampler, 1829 . . Frontispiece
Officers of the Society vi
Preface vii
Minutes Annual Meeting, 1909 1
Report of Secretary, Henry R. Pattengill, 1909. . . 6
Report of Treasurer, B. F. Davis, 1909. ... 11
Minutes Midwinter Meeting, Flint 1910.. . . 12
Minutes Annual Meeting, 1910 ... 17
President's Address 20
Report of Secretary, Henry R. Pattengill, 1910 21
Report of Treasurer, B. F. Davis, 1910 25
Report of Committees 26
Minutes Midwinter Meeting, Kalamazoo 1911 29
Minutes Annual Meeting, 1911 42
Michigan's Loss, Hon. Joseph Greusel 44
Report of Secretary, Henry R. Pattengill, 1911 50
Report of Treasurer, B. F. Davis, 1911 55
Methods of Securing Information for Local History, Dwight Goss 56
Daniel Marsac, John S. Hooker 60
John S. Hooker of Lowell, from Grand Rapids Newspaper 61
Sophie De Marsac Campau, Mrs. Sophie Bingham Buchanan 64
Daniel Ball, C. C. Comstock 69
Prehistoric Forts in Macomb County, George H. Cannon 73
Old Baldoon, Mrs. Jane M. Kinncy .78
Old Fort Holmes and Fort Michilimackinac, Hon. Peter White 85
Early Days in Grand Rapids, Miss Lucy Ball 92
A Visit to the Home of Cadillac, C. M. Burton 105
Genealogy of Cadillac, C. M. Burton 1 10
Presentation of Burt's Portrait and Solar Compass to Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
John E. Day 112
Burt's Solar Compass, Austin Burt 114
Summary of Controversy over Invention of Solar Compass, Horace E. Burt 117
Historical Lights from Judicial Decisions, Judge Edward Cahill 118
The Boundary Lines of the United States Under the Treaty of 1782, C. M. Burton 130
The Gateways of the Old Northwest, Frederick L. Paxson, Ph. D 139
Unexplored Fields in American History, Claude H. Van Tyne, Ph. D 148
The Lost Finch Boy, John E. Day 153
Incidents of Early Days in Allegan County, Mrs. Nina Daugherty 156
Michigan's Land Boundary, George H. Cannon 163
Autobiography of Mrs. Nancy Carey 168
Mrs. Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, Mrs. Mary M. Hoyt 171
Settlement of Howell, Mrs. B. F. Batcheler 176
History of Howell, Elisha H. Smith 185
The Story of John Tanner, Mrs. Angie Bingham Gilbert 196
The Value of Local Historical Data, Frank Tracy Carleton, A. M. Ph. D 201
The Dutch Pioneers of Michigan, Marttn L. D'Ooge LL. D 204
Life of Jesse Crowell, James C. Eslow 212
Greeting, George W. Stone 219
Marshall Men and Measures in State and National History, Hon. John C. Patterson 220
Battle Creek as a Station on the Underground Railway, Charles E. Barnes 279
Reminiscences of Grand Traverse Region, Mrs. Martha Gray 285
Indian and Pioneer Life, Miss Minnie B. Waite 318
Presentation of Chairs used by Governor and Judges of the Northwest Territory, E. J. Wright. . 322
Amusements in Detroit in Colonial Days, C. M. Burton 324
iv CONTENTS
Page
Hyde Family, Mrs. Harriet Hyde Wells
Samplers that I Have Read About, Seen and Owned, Mrs. Florence S. Babbitt
The Puritan Blood of Michigan, W. V. Smith...
Reminiscences of Early Days, David M. Richards
Eighty Years of Michigan, P. S. Richards...
History of Fort Maiden or Amherstburg, Frances Cleary
French and Indian Footprints at Three Rivers on the St. Joseph, Blanche M. Haines, M D..
D. A. R. Unveiled Monument Marking Site of French Trading Post, Three Rivers Commercial 398
Sauganash's Grave Marked by Three Rivers Daughters of the American Revolution, Three
Hirers Commercial
The French Settlement of St. Joseph County, Mrs. Alexander Custard.. .
Personal Recollections of Pioneer Life, Miss Ruth Hoppin. . .
Extracts from History of Three Rivers, M. II . Bumphrcy. . 417
Autobiography of Mrs. William Arney
History and Meaning of the County Names of Michigan, W. Lee Jenks
landmarks of I,enawee County, Mrs. Frank P. Dodge.. . 478
Marking Terminus of Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. Mrs. Frank P. Dodge 491
The Early Railroads of Southern Michigan, Clarence Frost
Genealogical Sketch of the Bissonette Family, C. Bissonette 502
Historical Sketch of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Rev. Robert W. Brown. . 509
Early Schools of Kalamazoo, Mrs. John Den Blijker 522
Presentation of Portrait of Hon. Arthur Hill, Hon. William Donovan 535
Arthur Hill, James B. Anyell, LL. D 530
An Introduction to the Settlement of Southern Michigan from 1815 to 1835, George Newman
Fuller - 539
Miss Emily Ward, commonly known as "Aunt Emily," Mrs. George N. Jones. . . . 581
Michigan's Share in the Establishment of Improved Transportation between the East and
West, Lew Allen Chase, M. A 589
Citizenship and the Public Schools, and Michigan History in Schools, A'. B. Sloan 609
Sketch of the Life of John Scott Homer, Mrs. Elizabeth Homer Burling 624
Some Early Maps of Michigan, William Lee Jenks • 627
Sturdy Pioneers of Van Buren and Cass, Hon. A. B. Copley 637
A Character Sketch of Henry A. Goodyear, Hon. Philip T. Colgrove 645
The Indians and the Trading Posts in the Northwest of Barry County, Charles A. Weissert. . 654
Some of Early Day Life in Michigan, Mrs. Margaret Lafcvcr 672
Memoirs, Henry Harrison Aplin 677
James H. Baker, Mrs. James M. Skinner 679
Arthur C. Bird 680
Delos A. Blodgett, W. H. Anderson 681
George H. Cannon, John E. Day 684
Rev. Riley Crooks Crawford, Henry S. Bartholomew, M. D 686
John Wetmore Dewey 689
Charles E. Foote, Hon. Oramel B. Fuller 691
Mrs. Thomas D. Gilbert, Claude H. Buchanan 693
Bishop George De N. Gillespie 699
Mrs. Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor, Miss Etolie T. Davis 700
Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor, Miss Etolie T. Davis 702
Dr. J. W. Hagadorn 708
William H. Haze, M. D., Mrs. Angeline Haze Hungerford 709
Dwight N. Lowell, John E. Day ' 712
Mrs. Henry J. Martin 713
William C. Maybury, Rev. John Connolly 714
John C. Patterson, Miss M. Agnes Burton 717
Theodore E. Potter, Rev. William Putnam 719
Dr. Carl Ludwig Rominger, Dr. A. C. Lane 721
Palmer Hurt! Taylor, Mrs. Philo T. Bates 726
Dr. Edwin Holmes Van Deusen, Rt. Rev. John M. McCormick 728
P. Dean Warner, Gov. Fred M. Warner 731
Mrs. Frank A. Weaver 734
Henry Whiteley, Harry H. Whilcley 734
Lucretia Williams 736
Frederick Mortimer Cowles 737
CONTENTS v
ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS.
Page
Sampler, 1829 Frontispiece
Daniel Marsac facing GO
John S. Hooker " 61
Sophie De Marsac Campau " 04
Daniel Ball 08
George H. Cannon " 72
Prehistoric Forts in Macomb County 75 70
Jesse Crowell " 212
John C. Patterson " 220
Collection Indian Relics, D. C. Beerstecher " 391-393
Boulder Marking Site of French Trading Post Three Rivers " 398
Mrs. Alexander Custard " 401
Old Manor House Patrick Marantette " 404
Boulder Terminal Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad at Adrian " 490
Erie & Kalamazoo Passenger Coach Adrian " 494
"Aunt" Emily Ward " 581
John Scott Homer, last Territorial Governor of Michigan " 024
Map of the Northwest part of the United States of America, from the State Library 029
Map of Michigan, Philu E. Judd, from the State Library 034
Map of Michigan, Orange Risdon, from the Detroit Public Library 035
Map of Michigan, John Farmer, from the Port Huron Public Library " 636
Mrs. Thomas D. Gilbert " 093
Mrs. Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor " 700
Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor . . " 702
OFFICERS
Clarence M. Burton, Detroit
Fred M. Warner, Farmington • • • Vice-President .
' Henry R Pattengill, Lansing Secretary.
Benjamin F. Davis, Lansing - -Treasurer.
HOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Lawton T. Ileinans, Mason A. C. Carton, East Tawas
Mrs. Nathan Judson, Lansing.
COMMITTEE OF HISTORIANS.
Ckrence E Bement, Lansing Rev. Frank O'Brien, Kalamazoo
Junius E. Beal, Ann Arbor W. L. Jenks, Port Huron
Joseph Greusel, Detroit.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
Alcona W. L. Chapelle, Harrisville.
Antrim J- McLaughlin, Elk Rapids.
Barry . Mrs. Sarah E. Striker, Hastings.
Benzie.. '. William A. Betts, Bcnzonia.
t'ass Hon. L. H. Glover, Cassopolis.
Charlevoix. '.'... E. H. Green, Charlevoix.
Chippewa Judge Charles H. Chapman, Sault Ste. Mane.
Clinton. Mrs. C. L. Pearse, De Witt.
Crawford Dr. Oscar Palmer, Grayling.
Delta Hon. O. B. Fuller, Ford River.
Dickinson Hon. James B. Knight, Norway.
Eaton Hon. Esek Pray, Dirnondale.
Gladwin Hon. Eugene Foster, Gladwin.
Grand Traverse Thomas T. Bates, Traverse City.
Hillsdale Joseph H. Edinger, Hillsdale.
Houghton Lieut. Gov. Orrin W. Robinson, Chassell.
Ingham John N. Bush, Lansing.
losco. •. John M. Waterbury, Tawas City.
Isabella Prof. C. S. Larzelere, Mt. Pleasant.
Jackson Mrs. P. H. Loomis, Jackson.
Kalamazoo E. W. De Yoe, Kalamazoo.
Kalkaska Hon. A. E. Palmer, Kalkaska.
Kent Hon. George W. Thayer, Grand Rapids.
Leelanau E. Jaye Dickerman, Solon.
Lenawee Hon. J. I. Knapp, Adrian.
Livingston A. Riley Crittenden, Howell.
Manistee • Hon. T. J. Rainsdell, Manistee.
Oceana Hon. C. A. Gurney, Hart.
Ogemaw Dr. H. M. Ammond, Campbell's Corners.
Oscoda Robert Kittle, Briggs.
Otsego Charles F. Davis, Elmira.
Ottawa Hon. G. T. Diekema, Holland.
Saginaw Mrs. Anna A. Palmer, Saginaw.
St . Clair. . George Howe, Port Huron.
St . Joseph Thomas G. Greene, Centreville.
1 uscola.t N. E. York, Millington.
Van Buren Hon. C. J. Monroe, South Haven.
Washtenaw J. Q. A. Sessions, Ann Arbor.
Wayne Hon. David E. Heineman, Detroit.
Wexford Hon. Perry F. Powers, Cadillac.
PREFACE
The thirty-eighth volume of the Collections consists of miscellaneous
papers read at the meetings during the publishing Of volumes thirty-six
and thirty-seven, composed almost entirely of documentary articles.
Thirteen biographies are given into which are woven many historical
incidents and items. Besides these are the memoirs of members whose
deaths have been recorded since our last volume. The obituaries of
three of these writers occupy space in the same book with their con-
tributions, bringing home to us the great importance of securing in-
formation at first hand before it is too late.
Prehistoric forts in Macomb county connect us with primitive life in
Michigan. The romance of Old Baldoon reads like old stories of Kings,
Castles and Knights. The old forts, not only old in Michigan but rank-
ing as such in the United States, are depicted. We see early Grand
Rapids and are invited to a Railroad Ball. We visit Cadillac's home.
We honor the inventor of the Solar Compass and developer of our
wonderful Upper Peninsula. We point to history and romance in dry
statistical legal decisions. New light is thrown on the boundaries of our
country. We are led through the Gateways of the Northwest to Unex-
plored Historical Fields. The perils of pioneer days are given in the
Lost Finch Boy, Early Allegan, Early Howell, Grand Traverse Region,
Indian and Pioneer Life, St. Joseph, Lena wee, Van Buren, Cass, Barry
and Eaton Counties, each contributing its share. Almost a photograph
of a true historian is displayed in the genuine history told in Colonial
Amusements of Detroit. You can read the Samplers exhibited. The
settlement and characteristics of Michigan are depicted in articles on
the French of St. Joseph County, the Dutch of Holland and Southern
Michigan settlement. More strictly historical are the History and
Meaning of Names of the Counties, and Maps. We follow the track
of the underground railway. We see practical work in the accounts
of historical sites marked and pictures preserved. Schools are not
ignored in the paper on those of Kalamazoo and connection of history
and citizenship with them. Michigan's part in National life is greatly
enhanced by the exhaustive but clear work of Marshall's Men and
Measures in its pioneering the public school system, protection of home-
steads and the enfranchisement of slaves. One of the strongest and most
viii PREFACE
helpful lives in Michigan was that of Aunt Emily Ward who started
twenty-nine young people in educational and industrial paths leading
them to high state and national honors. The reader must bear in mind
that this Society does not attempt a connected history of Michigan but
fragmentary sketches that, like moving pictures, show bits of domestic
life and habits and customs of its citizens.
The Historians invite the organization of County Societies and their
co-operation in gathering and preserving local records. History while
dealing with past events must receive the attention of the present time
and thus teach the coming generations.
Committee of Historians,
CLARENCE E. BEMENT, Lansing
JUNIUS E. BEAL, Ann Arbor
REV. FRANK O'BRIEN, Kalamazoo
W. LEE JENKS, Port Huron
JOSEPH GREUSEL, Detroit
MICHIGAN
Pioneer and Historical Society
ANNUAL MEETING, JUNE 2 AND 3, 1909
The thirty-fifth annual meeting of the Michigan Pioneer and His-
torical Society was called to order by - the President, C. M. Burton,
Wednesday, June 2, 1909, at 2 o'clock p. m. Rev. William Putnam of
Lansing offered prayer. Music by the choir of the Industrial School
for Boys.
The president made a short address, comparing the work with other
societies and with former years, commending the progress made. He
expressed the appreciation of the Society for the help rendered by ap-
propriations from the legislature, regretting circumstances made it
necessary to curtail the amount asked for. He emphasized the needs for
better accommodations and more means to adequately carry on the
work. The reports of the secretary and treasurer will be found follow-
ing this.
The president, in answer to a request from the clerk, Mrs. Ferrey,
appointed a committee to audit the accounts, consisting of Messrs.
George Howe, Port Huron, George Thayer, Grand Rapids, and Henry
J. Martin of Vermontville. The Industrial School Boys sang, "Tenting
Tonight."
By request, Mr. H. M. Utley courteously exchanged places on the
program with Father O'Brien of Kalamazoo, who read a scholarly paper
on the Life of Richard R. Elliott, the predecessor of C. M. Burton,
historiographer of Detroit. Son. Levi Barbour prefaced a fine memorial
of Peter White by the presentation of a nicely framed portrait which
was unveiled by the president. This picture was donated by M. W.
Jopling, a son-in-law of Peter White, through the solicitation of Hon.
Charles R. McCabe of Marquette. Mr. E. J. Wright of Lansing gave
an account of the manner in which the Society became the possessor of
2 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
four chairs originally occupied by Michigan territorial governors and
sold by the State to persons who gave them to the Masonic Lodge, and
by resolution of that body they were returned to the Michigan Pioneer
and Historical Society. The chairs were displayed, bearing the addi-
tional silver plates recently bought and placed on them by the lodge.
Judge Cahill offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That the thanks of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical So-
ciety be extended to Lansing Lodge No. 33, P. & A. M., for the presenta-
tion of four chairs, viz. : one large solid mahogany chair, beautifully
carved and upholstered in hair cloth, used by the Territorial Governors
and Judges; one large, plain mahogany chair in same covering, very
heavy and massive; two office chairs, hand carved, with hair-cloth covers
and rope-legs.
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the Master of the
Lodge.
This resolution was unanimously adopted.
Miss Othie Smith of Sault Ste. Marie sang a solo, entitled "Rock Me
To Sleep." Mrs. Martha Gray of Traverse City read an interesting
paper on the "Forerunners of The Grand Traverse Region." Hon.
Huntley Russell closed the afternoon session with a solo, Kipling's
"Recessional," Miss Block, accompanist.
Wednesday evening's session was opened by music from the Baracca
Club, Lansing, entitled "The Winter Song," and for an encore they
rendered, "March of the Gods." Henry M. Utley, City Librarian of
Detroit, read a biography of Gen. Byron M. Cutcheon [or McOutcheon].
Mrs. Jane M. Kenney of Port Huron said Gen. Cutcheon told her that
jhe changed his name on account of his brother who established himself
first in Michigan and was known as Cutcheon, so when he joined him,
he also dropped the "Me," as he considered two own brothers should
have the same name, although he had always regretted his action. The
Baracca Club then sang, "Old Black Joe," and responded to an encore
with "April and November."
Judge Montgomery gave a fine memorial of Daniel McCoy, prefacing
his paper by calling attention to the coincidence that both Gen. Outcheon
and Mr. McCoy were of Scotch extraction, and both names had been
corrupted, McCoy originally being McKay. Miss Glenna Bishop of
Eaton Rapids, sang "Praying For You."
William Foster of Delta presented the Society with a flail and shake
made by himself, an Indian relic, and some corn like that grown in
Alaska, which had been brought by the birds to his farm, each kernel
being enclosed in several husks. Mr. Foster planted some of the seed,
md now has specimens of a number of ears. He said he did not have
an education, and the great men of the State, whose biographies they
ANNUAL MEETING, 1909 3
had listened to, had some one to tell their history, but that he would
have to tell his own. He took up some land near Delta when the sections
we now know were all a wilderness; he built himself a shanty, of
course of green lumber, which shrunk so it was almost impossible to
detect any difference between the atmosphere outside and inside of the
house. It served as a shelter from storms and a protection from the
animals, then plentiful, but in cold weather there was no danger of
perspiring in his house. He thought he must fix it up a bit, as the
winter was upon them, and the thermometer near zero. He secured
the help of five men, and in four days they had a log house, but as
there was no chance for the usual mud-chinking, frequently snow drifted
into his cabin to the depth of several indies. This was in December
and it proved a hard winter. The first of April, 1855, there came a
storm, leaving the snow fifteen inches deep on the level, but it lasted
only eleven days.
He worked a few days for a man who had no money with which to
pay him and he took a log chain for recompense. He cut down and
"branded" five acres of ground covered with beautiful timber. He
walked from Delta to the site of the present Michigan Agricultural
College, and from a man named Burton, who occupied the farm now
owned by the State, he bought five bushels of wheat at $1.50 per bushel,
and carried it home in bags on his back. The flail he presented he
made to thrash out the grain grown from the seed. He was born in
1831, and now owed no man a dollar, and could live comfortably the
remainder of his days. He said his wife deserved as much credit for
his success as himself, for the privations borne by her were as great,
if not greater, than those endured by himself. He thought the present
generation would be benefited by the experience of some of these hard-
ships. They would grow to know each other better, and appreciate each
other more, and it would result in fewer divorces.
Samuel F. Cook gave a paper on ''The Man Who Sold Mackinac Island
to the British in 1812, His Purchaser and His Reward." Miss Bishop
favored the audience with a solo entitled, "Fishing."
Thursday morning a committee meeting was held in Committee Room
A, Senate Chamber.
Thursday afternoon the president desired to know the pleasure of the
society in the matter of the nomination of officers. There being no ob-
jections to precedents established he appointed as nominating committee,
Judge Cahill, Messrs. Greusel, Howe, Martin, and Jewell. The audit-
ing committee's report was adopted.
John I. Knapp of Adrian gave an informal and general invitation
to the audience to be present at the dedication of a monument to Aunt
Laura Haviland in Adrian, contributed by the citizens, and unveiled
4 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
during the Home Coming Celebration. He added that this was the
sixth public monument erected to a woman in the United States. It
was expected that Will Carleton a Michigan poet would deliver the ad-
dress.
Mrs. Mary E. Bascom Henry of Albion, in behalf of Mrs. Belle
Gardner Gale of Albion, presented a small framed photograph of her
father, Mr. A. D. Gardner.
Mr. Jewell of Pontiac, gave a brief account of the Oakland County
Pioneer Society, and two attempts to get on a permanent financial basis
which had resulted in securing cases for records, proper room for them
in the new court-house and a small fund for future use. He said the
maintenance of the society formerly depended entirely on the women.
He gave a cordial invitation to attend their coming meeting.
The nominating committee recommended the following officers who
were unanimously elected by the Society:
C. M. Burton, Detroit, president.
Edward W. Barber, Jackson, vice-president.
Henry R. Pattengill, Lansing, secretary.
B. F. Davis, Lansing, treasurer.
COMMITTEE OF HISTORIANS
Junius E. Beal, Ann Arbor.
Frank O'Brien, Kalamazoo.
Edwin O. Wood, Flint.
Joseph H. Steere, Sault Ste. Marie.
COLLECTOR
Florence S. Babbitt, Ypsilanti.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Lawton T. Hemans, Mason.
J. V. Barry, Lansing.
Joseph Greusel, Detroit.
Mr. Greusel read a paper and letter from Hon. Thomas W. Palmer,
regarding his reminiscences of Rev. D. M. Cooper of Detroit, a member
this society recently deceased. Mr. John Atkinson of Detroit sang
four Indian songs by Cadman.
Mr. W. V. Smith gave an address on the "Aborigines of Michigan."
nien B. Judson then read a paper on "The Great Railroad Con-
spiracy/' prepared by P. S. Richards, Cohoctah.
ANNUAL MEETING, 1909 5
Mr. Atkinson followed with a vocal solo, "As in a Rose Jar," and for
an encore repeated, by request, the Indian songs.
Mrs. Babbitt gave a paper on "Samplers," exhibiting several in her
own possession, some belonging to the Society, and others loaned for
the occasion. At the conclusion of the article Mr. Burton, on behalf
of Mr. F. M. Cowles, presented Mrs. Babbitt with a very beautiful
bouquet. In response, she said she was very much surprised, but man-
aged to collect herself to explain that it had been a custom of Mr.
Cowles, at the meetings of both the Ingham County and State societies,
to present a bouquet to some lady, generally the oldest one present.
Last year at Mason she begged for the flowers, but Mr. Cowles replied
they were intended for a handsomer woman. She was very glad to
know she had improved in looks sufficiently to receive the bouquet, and
it was more appreciated from the fact she did not often have bouquets
thrown at her. She would accept the honor conferred on her in the
following stanza :
"The world is filled with flowers,
The flowers are filled with dew,
My heart is filled with love,
For you, and you, and you."
Mr. Burton called attention to the picture of Miss Emily Ward dis-
played in front of the desk, and said he regarded her as one of the
grandest and best women in Michigan for her time. While she never
married she had brought up seventeen boys, and he and others present
mentioned several of these who attained state and even national reputa-
tions. This picture was presented by Mrs. George Jones on behalf of
the Woman's Club of Marine City.
Mr. Finney said Michigan was entitled to two statues at the base of
a monument in Washington, D. C., the first, and only one so far, being
that of Gen. Cass. He recommended that a resolution be sent to the
next legislature naming the man to be thus honored to secure such a
statue. Mr. Burton named as such committee to draft resolutions Mr.
Finney, Judge Cahill, and Joseph Greusel. Mr. Atkinson sang "A
Man's Song," and responded with a solo "Some Day." The paper on the
Hyde Family was not read, owing to the absence of the author, but
appears in these collections. Mr. Burton then read a very comprehensive
and researchful paper on "Early Amusements in Detroit."
The evening session was opened by a solo by Mr. Atkinson, "All
Through the Night," and a second song by request. Mr. George Howe
of Port Huron gave a report of the pioneer meetings held in St. Clair
County. Rev. Jenkins Lloyd Jones prefaced his address by saying the
boundaries of Michigan were all that prevented his being already a Mich-
6 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
igan citizen by law, as he was one of us in spirit. He came to Illinois
when one year of age, and brought his parents with him. He was gratified
at such successful attempts to conserve history, and had become ancient
history himself, he felt, at times. He selected Francis Parkman for
his theme on account of the man and of his great and marvelous work
for Michigan and the old Northwest. By request, Mr. Atkinson repeated
the Indian songs.
Mr. Charles Moore then gave a very complete biography of the life
and work of James McMillan, United States Senator from Michigan.
Mr. Atkinson sang, "Thy Sentinel Am I," and Rev. Dr. Haze, ninety-
tliree years of age, closed the meeting with a benediction.
The flowers which decorated the room were generously presented by
the Michigan Agricultural College, and the School for the Blind. A
memorial bouquet of peonies was sent by Mrs. Susie Stark for her
father, C. B. Stebbins, a very helpful and interested member in former
years.
REPORT OF SECRETARY H. R. PATTENGILL, 1909
The Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society was organized in 1874.
The roster contains the names of those most prominent in State matters
at that time. Papers read at the annual meetings were too valuable to
be lost, so a small sum was obtained from the legislature to publish
them. A yearly book has since been issued, making, in 1910, thirty-six
published volumes, and two of cumulative index, thirty-eight in all.
Books were scarce in the early days and libraries few. In order to
bring the importance of the history of the State more generally before
the people, it was voted, June 2, 1896, to allow each school library,
having twenty-five volumes, not including State and public reports, to
have a set of these books for the cost of transportation. The number
required was afterwards increased to fifty and again to one hundred
volumes. The school libraries of the State now number 5,500; we only
issue 2,500 books annually. You can readily see we are confronted with
a problem. For this reason the board again raised the number of vol-
umes required to 500 volumes. This free distribution of the books re-
sulted in 1907 in fourteen volumes being out of print. A new index
for six volumes was made by Mrs. M. B. Ferrey and all the matter re-
vised and corrected by the editors. Since three more have been com-
pleted and one is under way. This greatly increased the work in the
office, with no additional help. The historical societies of the United
States, public, college, and high school libraries have generally com-
pleted their sets, even to the extent of buying the missing volumes if
REPORT OF SECRETARY 7
they had been once received. There are now upwards of 1,500 schools
in receipt of these collections. Of the rural schools, fully one-third if
not one-half, have not sent for the second supply of books. Many of
these schools have no place for a library and in some cases they have
been kept in private houses. The teachers change so often that no
settled policy can be established, and so oftentimes little has been done
with the books compared with what might be the result. We have, there-
fore, instead of distributing the books as asked for turned our attention
towards completing the sets where they have been placed and investi-
gating the claims of new applicants.
There is no other historical society in the United States that is doing
so much work with so little money. We assure you we are doing our
best to improve the work of the Society, but must ask your patience
until more help and better conditions enable us to investigate applica-
tions or fill ordess.
NEAV MEMBERS
Mrs. Katherine Criswell, Cassopolis; Mrs. Edith G. Munger, Hart;
Mrs. Maude Willetts Reed, Detroit; Dr. Joseph W. Mauck, Hillsdale
College; Mrs. Renee Louise Tompkins Hamilton (Mrs. Barritt), Battle
Creek ; George Curtis Langdon, Geneva, K Y. ; C. E, Bement, Lansing ;
Francis H. Rankin, Flint; Mrs. Jennie Lind Pond, Lansing; Mrs. Ellen
Amanda Cook Cronks, Flint; Mrs. Hannah El^abeth Countryman,
Flint ; Rev. Seth Reed, Flint ; Mrs. Rebecca Folger Crapo Durant, Flint ;
Mrs. Gertrude Amelia Bates, Flint; Edmund Piper Calkins, Flint; Rev.
Father Timothy J. Murphy, Flint; Mrs. Harriet Begole, gift, Flint;
Mrs. Mary Begole Cummings, Flint; William Lee Jenks, Port Huron;
Mrs. Sophia Bingham Buchanan, Grand Rapids; Mrs. Wenona Austin
Gregory Waters, Owosso; Miss Lena Estelle Gregory, Owosso; Horace
Major Olney, Hartford; Eugene Frank Cooley, Lansing; Mrs. Helen B.
Fuller, Lansing; Hon. Walter Rose Taylor, Kalamazoo; Joseph S, Stock-
well, Pontiac; Joshua W. Bird, Pontiac; Mrs. James Appleyard, Lan-
sing; William H. Anderson, Grand Rapids; Mrs. Emily R. John-
son, Lansing; Isaac Nelson Woolcott, Lansing; Mrs. Bessie A.
Rowe McPherson, Lansing; Mrs. Francis McQuigg Stewart, Flint.
MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
DEATHS.
The deaths reported for the fiscal year of 1909 were as follows :
David B. Hale, Eaton Rapids pioneer, father of Representative Hale;
William A. Heartt, prominent Tuscola settler; Charles S. Williams of
Owosso, son of one of the well-known Michigan pioneers, the four Wil-
liams brothers; Alanson Pearsall, formerly of Lansing whose death oc-
curred in Oregon ; N. Augustus Parker, Frankfort, a well-known lawyer,
greatly interested in educational and historical matters; Dwight Goss,
author of History of Grand Rapids and a valued contributor to these
Collections, who died at Palo Alto, California, whither he had gone in
pursuit of health ; Sheridan J. Colby, Detroit representative in the legis-
lature and father of the bill for Primary Election; George H. Cannon
of Washington, Macomb County, one of the pioneer surveyors of Mich-
igan whose paper before the Society resulted in the appointment of Na-
tional Commissioners to regain Michigan's lost territory from Wisconsin ;
James A. Case of Alpena, a faithful school commissioner; John O.
Woolson, Bay City; Mrs. Agnes L. Averell, Bay City; G. M. Pettys,
Grand Rapids; Mrs. W. H. Harrison, wife of a devoted member of this
Society who always in response to the annual program sent a small
check showing a practical interest in our work; Mrs. L. B. McGee, an
old resident of Albion who died at the Dulcinia Home at Marshall, Mich-
igan ; Mr. Ferine V. Fox, who with Mr. George W. Thayer were regular
attendants at our annual meetings; Hon. C. E. Foote, of Kalamazoo,
commander of the G, A. R.'s; Friend Palmer of Detroit, who served
faithfully in the Civil War and whose volume of Reminiscences of Early
Detroit are included in Michigan libraries; H. W. Bartlett who con-
ducted one of Lansing's early Business Colleges; Mrs. Nancy Carey,
a sketch of whose life appears in this series.
REPORT OP SECRETARY
GIFTS AND LOANS, JUNE, 1908-JUNE, 1909
Three books, presented by Mrs. John Clear, Lansing, Mich.
Newspaper, October 20, 1883, presented by Dr. Von Rosenberg, Lansing, Mich.
Calash bonnet, worn by Gen. Macomb's daughter, Mrs. Rucker of Grosse Isle,
loaned by Mrs. Ferrey.
Glass door knob and picture from John Rucker's home on Grosse Isle — the house
is now in ruins — loaned by Mrs. Ferrey.
Ink stand brought from Scotland, used about 1758, and a candy heart bought in
Jackson in July, 1862, presented by George Mower, Lansing, Mich.
Tea caddy and several old bills (fractional currency), presented by Mrs. Lottie
Mower, Lansing, Mich.
Card receiver, Pearl Pope, Coldwater, Mich.
Two pictures, Mr. and Mrs. Elder, old residents of Lansing, presented by their
daughter, Mrs. Perry, Lansing, Mich.
Six books, presented by Judge Patterson, Marshall, Mich.
A runlet and a pewter whale-oil lamp, presented by Miss Burr, Grand Ledge,
Mich.
Picture of Judge Long, presented by A. C. Chapin, Lansing, Mich.
Four mineral specimens, presented by C. E. Davis, Marcellus, Mich.
Post card, with Declaration of Independence written on it, presented by A. G.
Carr, Nashville, Mich.
Brown pitcher, very old, white glass spoon holder, presented by Mrs. Mary E.
Bascom Henry, Albion, Mich.
Large Indian basket, belonged to Mrs. W. G. Wiley, presented by Mrs.. T. L. P.
Miles, Lansing, Mich.
Piece of lace work, 22 by 30 inches, framed — design, American eagle and flags,
made by Mrs. Delphine Miller and loaned by her to the Society. It is valued at
$1,000.
Trammel and andirons presented by Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Smith, Haslett Park,
Mich.
Two vases, presented by Mrs. Reiley, Lansing, Mich.
Picture of John Okemos, son of Chief Okemos, and a spectacle case, loaned by
W. L. Cheney, Mason, Mich.
Brochure, "White Pigeon," presented by the Ladies Alba Columba Club, White
Pigeon, Mich.
Bible which belonged to Jesse Crowell, presented by Mrs. Smith Chatfield,
Albion, Mich.
Commission, dated July 4, 1820, signed by Dewitt Clinton, presented by H. N.
Rowley, Albion, Mich.
Picture of Miss Emily Ward, given by Marine City Women's Clubs.
Eight Continental bills and 107 .foreign coins, presented by Major J. W. Harrar,
Deputy State Treasurer.
Two iron bake dishes given by Mrs. Leonora Kimball, Detroit, Mich.
Piano case melodeon, presented by Mary L. Barnes, Duluth, Minn.
Bronze replica of Gov. Mason, presented by Hon. Daniel McCoy.
Mosaic jewelry, presented by Mrs. Mary Clarkson, Lansing, Mich.
Book, by Alonzo Thompson, Delhi township, presented by E. A. Calkins, Mason,
Mich.
10 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Prohibition handkerchief, with temperance lessons, loaned by Tim. Miles, Lan-
sing, Mich.
First prayer in Congress, 1776, embroidered and framed about 1882, presented
by Sarah Brisbin, Lansing, Mich.
Several very valuable pieces of china and pottery, four very old books, tin candle
stick and snuffers, presented by Mrs. Palmyra Halm, Leslie, Mich., collected by
Mrs. Ferrey.
Basket made by Menominee Indians, presented by Col. Michael Harris, Harris-
ville, Mich.
Chopping knife made about 1800, presented by Mrs. Becker and daughter, Leslie,
Mich.
Railroad bank bill, framed, and autograph letter of Gen. U. S. Grant, presented
by George Sidman, Philadelphia, Pa.
Epaulette, loaned by Fred. Hadrich, Lansing, Mich.
Bread dish, very old, presented by Mrs. John S. Hicks, Tecumseh, Mich.
Flail, presented by William Foster, Lansing, Mich., who made and used it on
his farm in Delta township fifty-two years.
Cup and saucer with Stewart coat-of-arms, handed down for 200 years, loaned by
a member of the Stewart family, Albion, Mich.
A photograph of Mr. Augustus Porter Gardner, one of the first pioneers of Albion,
presented by his daughter, Mrs. Gale.
Two copper luster vases, brought from the State of New York, 1865, loaned by
Mrs. William Henry, Albion, Mich.
REPORT OF TREASURER 11
TREASURER'S REPORT.
Annual report of the treasurer of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Society from May 29, 1908, to the close of business May 30, 1909 :
Cash on hand May 29, 1909 $1,655 18
Received from membership fees 57 50
Received from State . 2,350 00
$4,062 68
DISBURSEMENTS.
June 8th, Paid George H. Bonnell $28 00
June 9th, Florence Babbitt 500 00
June 13th, Copying Margry papers 500 00
Removing Books 32 00
July 7th, Reprints for Prof. Alvord 15 00
July 13th, Florence S. Babbitt (agreement regarding china) 100 00
Sept. llth, Refund for express money (Mrs. Ferrey) 10 00
Oct. 12, Copying and translating manuscript 395 70
Feb. 25th, Binding Vol. 36— Morocco 24 00
Expense of board meeting 49 00
Expense of annual meeting 32 25
Incidentals 52 22
Salary, M. B. Ferrey 1,000 00
Salary, G. E, Dew 360 00
$3,098 17
Balance on hand at close of business June 1, 1909 $964 51
$100.00 additional in special fund.
Respectfully submitted,
B. F. DAVIS,
Treasurer.
12 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
MIDWINTER MEETING AT FLINT, JANUARY 25 AND 26, 1910
The fifth midwinter meeting was held in the Presbyterian Church at
Flint, January 25th and 26th, 1910. The program was carried out with
few changes. Rev. Seth Reed made the opening prayer. The music
throughout the meeting was of a high character, consisting of instru-
mental and vocal, and also the Victor Victrola operated by Mrs. Wisner,
wife of Judge Wisner of Flint. The sign recitations by pupils from the
School for the Deaf and Dumb were exceedingly interesting, evincing
much study and thought. In the absence of Mayor Selby, City Attorney
Homer J. McBride delivered the address of welcome.
It was to be regretted that Mrs. J. W. Begole was unable to be
present to second this greeting. The response by President C. M. Bur-
ton expressed appreciation of the interest shown by the citizens of
Flint, and displayed his familiarity with all matters of history. TJie
thoughtful and scholarly paper on Michigan Early Emigration by W.
V. Smith .of Flint followed.
Reminiscences were indulged in by John R. Benson and other pioneers
from the townships of Genesee County. Mr. Benson's home is at Mt.
Morris. He came into the county in 1840 when two years old. The
Pere Marquette railroad cuts into his farm on its way between Mount
Morris and Clio. He particularly called attention to the skill and in-
genuity acquired by the pioneers to provide their necessary tools and
furniture, or adapt themselves to the urgency of conditions. Manufac-
tories were unknown, stores merely trading posts, and nearly everything
bore the stamp of being homemade. The scarcity of money made barter
and exchange about the only way of doing business.
President Willson read a letter from A. O. Lyon of Chicago, a former
recorder and abstract business man of Flint. Dr. Burr of the Oak-
grove Asylum made a motion to instruct Secretary H. R. Pattengill to
send a telegram to Hon. Thomas W. Palmer whose eightieth birthday
occurred January 25th, 1910.
It was very gratifying to see so many of the old pioneers present from
the county, fully one hundred of whom listened to the papers, and at
the close of the session remained to greet each other and recall old times.
A number of portraits and early pictures had been collected, which
were hung or displayed in the church parlors. These were largely from
the collections of F. H. Rankin to whom is due many thanks for his in-
terest and assistance.
The program for the evening was opened by a vocal solo by Miss
MIDWINTER MEETING AT FLINT, 1910 13
Anna Louise Gillies of Flint, accompanied by Miss Mabel Green, pianist.
An address was given by Henry R. Pattengill, the keynote of which
was Emerson's sentiment, "The best servant of the republic is one who
knows its past, foresees its future, lives in its present, and is ready
for the next step." He deplored the neglect of teaching the rising gen-
eration the history of our State, proving the lessons from it are fully
as practical and valuable as those drawn from the dark ages or medieval
times. Loyalty and wisdom were in Austin Blair, as well as in Crom-
well, and as much knowledge gained from modern heroes and Peter
White as from Peter the Hermit. Michigan boys and girls should be
masters of the biographies and historical events of our State. Pontiac,
his wigwam village and pilgrimages through Michigan should be studied ;
old Detroit with its quaint French customs and characters printed on
memory as plainly as treasured in books ; the Toledo War and its origin,
early improvements, early privations and other features of our history
should be studied and digested and Douglas Hough ton's valuable and
romantic life made familiar. The great men in judicial, executive and
civil life should be read and remembered. In this way one would be
able to foresee the future. He empathically declared that foreseeing was
not prophesying but the larger vision coming from knowledge and ex-
perience. The ability to foresee the future is the best guide to present
actions. Mr. Pattengill's earnest, forceful, and eloquent remarks brought
a hearty response from the audience.
After! another solo by Miss Gillies, James V. Barry, Michigan Commis-
sioner of Insurance, gave an address on how the State lost in artificial
property and national resources by imperfect fire restrictions. Com-
parison of losses to the disparagement of the United States was made
with Europe, the former amounting to $3.02 per capita, and the latter
running as low as thirty cents. The American people had no realiza-
tion of the prevention of fires but excelled in appliances to allay their
destructiveness. In Prussia an alarm of fire in a dwelling was given,
and the fire was soon extinguished, but the builder was called into the
fire-marshal's court and made to report the cause, which was from a
defective stove. For this he was fined and imprisoned. Insurer and
insured alike are interested in just such stringent regulations which
should become part of the statutory laws of Michigan.
Hon. Lawton T. Hemans gave an eloquent tribute to Michigan standing
at the verge of her seventy-third birthday. "If the history of the past
and its wonderful discoveries and achievements has been gratifying, no
less so are the promises of the future. We should say, and see to it,
that 'the best is yet to be.7 " He extolled historical work and its great
value to the State, whose standing army were the pioneers and their
work. He asserted that the founding of the pioneer home required as
H MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
much courage and heroism as the defence of a fort or valor on the
battlefield. The victory of peace rivals the victory of war.
Hon. Junius E. Beal, regent of the University of Michigan and a
member of the Public Domain Commission, made a plea for the con-
servation of the State's resources. The immense wealth gathered from
the destruction of one of Michigan's greatest sources of riches has be-
come personal and has passed beyond her control, but the restoration of
the pine barrens, which should result in new forests, might again bring
life and wealth to her acres. He bespoke the cooperation of this society
to aid in the preservation of the natural as well as the necessary his-
torical resources.
Hon. Joseph Greusel of Detroit spoke briefly of Michigan's import-
ance in the making up of the nation. It was the port of entry for all
neighboring States. From the great advantages arising from the num-
ber and magnitude of its lakes it made for itself a prominent place on
the ma]) of our country and no less so in history. Its antiquity, its
romances, its bravery and its leaders made records which the Society,
though tardy in gathering, is now engaged industriously in collecting
under the direction of the president of the Society. The results are ap-
parent in the extension and betterment of the work.
Wednesday morning, January 2Gth, the officers and visitors were taken
in carriages around the city giving them an opportunity to see its
miraculous growth. Although in the depths of winter, the workmen
with families were obliged to occupy tents which seemed in perfect-
accord with the pioneer part of the convention.
The afternoon session was opened with music, followed by the report
of Rev. Father Frank J. O'Brien of Kalamazoo who was appointed dele-
gate to represent the Society at the National meeting of Historical So-
cieties held in New York.
Dr. Annie Rundell, of the Institution for the Deaf at Flint, delivered
an interesting account of the work of the several State chapters of the
Daughters of the American Revolution. This is essentially a patriotic
order, its objects being to honor the memory of the brave heroes of the
days of 76, mark historic sites, and especially to cultivate a taste for and
knowledge how to secure and preserve all material connected with the
history of our State. There are thirty chapters in Michigan which, be-
side the national work of erecting and furnishing a magnificent Conti-
nental Memorial hall at Washington, D. C., and presenting a handsome
flag to the Battleship Michigan, have identified and suitably marked the
graves of Revolutionary soldiers throughout the State. Many prizes
bave been offered to the pupils of the public schools for patriotic essays
on given subjects or biographies of eminent men and women. In some
instances Hags have been presented schools and copies of the Declara-
MIDWINTER MEETING AT FLINT, 1910 15
tion of Independence given, since this American Magna Charta has
been sealed and laid away to save it from the ravages of time.
Clarence E. Bement of Lansing who had been announced for a talk
on the previous evening, now took the platform. He spoke of the value
of historical work and the debt the State owed Mr. O. M. Burton who
stood, not only as the head of the work in Michigan, but who was
well-known and respected by the historians and historical societies of
the United States for his discoveries and historical knowledge. He
had devoted both time and means to the betterment of this Society. He
congratulated the citizens of Genesee County on the wealth of historic
material to be gathered by them with its early settlements, its unique
Indian settings, the home of two governors of the State, a justice of
the Supreme Court, and many others high in official places, making it
rank among the first in importance. Mr. Bement advocated the culture
of love of history among the children. If more time were devoted to
its study it would necessitate better material and preparation. He
emphasized the fact that the time was ripe for a proper historical build-
ing, one worthy of the work and creditable to Michigan.
Miss Loretta Morrisey of Flint followed with a piano solo.
David Eichards of Richfield gave "Reminiscences of Early Days" in
such a vivid and truthful manner that the pioneers felt their own ex-
periences repeated and could be heard to assent to these recollections
with "That's right," or "I remember that."
Francis Cleary of Windsor, Ont, then read a paper on Old Fort Maiden
and Amherstburg.
The evening session was in charge of Dr. Willson who called on Hon.
John Carton. He spoke of his personal knowledge of the work done by
the Society as witnessed by him during his position as speaker of the
house and president of the constitutional convention of 1907. While he
did not lay claim to the privations of the early settlers, enough were left
to struggling farmers with large families to enable them to realize and
recognize the trials and successes of the pioneers.
A reply was received from the telegram to Hon. Thomas W. Palmer
as follows :
"Your kind letter of congratulations on my eightieth birthday was
received yesterday too late for a response. I thank you for your kind
wishes. It is pleasant to be remembered even before you die."
Hon. William R. Bates ex-United States marshal, gave some exceed-
ingly interesting items of early Flint. He citied the names of the
lawyers, doctors, and ministers of 1870, very few of whom could respond
to roll-call now. He gave a description of the newspapers of that day,
the comparison of which reflected much glory on the Flint Daily Journal,
which challenges quality from papers in other cities of the same size.
16 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The sawmills of those days were the greatest assets, with lumber as
king.
Dr. J. S. Willson, son-in-law of Governor Oapo and president of the
Genesee County Pioneer and Historical Society, read a list of the names
of people who had been residents of the county for more than forty
years. Longevity is exemplified in Genesee. Dr. Willson also told of
the first white family to settle in Flint, Uncle John and Aunt Polly
Todd. They bought section 7 of Burton township, receiving 745 acres
for $800. A greater part of the city of Flint is built on this land. The
semi-centennial of Flint and dedication of its fine court-house had
familiarized many early events heretofore unknown.
Rev. Seth Reed, one of the few circuit riders of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, made a memorable speech. Mr. Reed has lived beyond the
allotted time of man, yet retains his mental faculties and physical
powers to a marvelous degree. He was connected with the Genesee
County circuit and painted vividly the condition of the towns and villages
in his district. His description of the Indian camprneeting we hope
to embody in our volumes. Truly he has seen many years, which have
been covered with honor and service.
Hon. E. O. Wood made some pertinent remarks, and expressed his
regrets at his unavoidable absence from the meetings. Mrs. Florence
S. Babbitt was called on and responded in an interesting manner. After
a vote of thanks to the citizens of Flint and Genesee County for assist-
ance in making the gathering so pleasant and profitable, the meeting
adjourned.
A remarkable feature was the fact that not one person whose name
was on the program failed to be present and perform his or her part.
Father O'Brien's report of the meeting of the American Historical So-
ciety at New York was exceedingly interesting and showed us the great
men of the country interested in this work. Rev. Seth Reed's presence was
an inspiration to the young. Steps were taken to organize a permanent
Genesee County Pioneer and Historical Society meeting to secure and
preserve local history.
ANNUAL, MEETING, 1910 17
ANNUAL MEETING, JUNE 7 AND 8, 1910
The thirty-sixth annual meeting of the Michigan Pioneer and His-
torical Society was held in the Senate chamber of the capitol, at Lan-
sing, June 7th and 8th, 1910.
The program for Tuesday, June 7th, at 2 o'clock p. m., was opened
with prayer by Rev. William Putnam, one of the oldest ministers in
Lansing, followed by an address by Hon. C. M. Burton, of Detroit, presi-
dent of the Society. H. R. Pattengill gave the report of the secretary.
In the absence of B. F. Davis, Frederick Hopkins read the treasurer's
report. A vocal selection, "June," was rendered by Mrs. F. O. Hesse.
John E. Day, of Armada, an intimate friend for many years, prepared
a memoir of George H. Cannon of Washington, Macomb County, Mich-
igan. The paper was read by Mr. Pattengill, in the absence of Mr. Day,
who was in attendance at the Macomb County Pioneer meeting.
An extended biography of Dr. William H. Haze, the oldest physician
and minister of Lansing, was given by his daughter, Mrs. Angie Hunger-
ford.
Judge Samuel Kilbourne gave a history of the life of Frederick M.
Cowles, an early resident of Lansing, and an earnest, faithful attendant
at the meetings of this society. One of his favorite customs was the
presentation of a fine bouquet of flowers to the oldest member present.
Mrs. F. O. Hesse sang a very pleasing song, entitled "Summer." A
paper was read by Clarence Frost of Adrian on "The Railroads of South-
ern Michigan." W. H. Anderson of Grand Rapids paid a glowing trib-
ute to Delos Blodgett. The session closed with a vocal solo by Jane
Barber, "The Year's at the Spring."
The exercises for the evening commenced at seven o'clock with a song
"The Yellow and the Blue," by the choir of the State Industrial School
for Boys. Dr. Blanche M. Haines of Three Rivers, Michigan, gave a
paper on "French and Indian Footprints on the St. Joseph."
A vocal selection by Jane Barber, "Bendemere Stream," pleased the
audience.
A portrait of Hon. Arthur Hill, presented by Mrs. Hill through the
courtesy of A. H. Fish of Saginaw, was made the subject of an earnest
and feeling sketch of Mr. Hill by his lifelong friend, William Donovan
of Lansing. Then came an address on Regent Hill by James B. Angell,
LLD., president emeritus of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
A vocal solo was given by Professor A. J. Patten of the Michigan Agri-
cultural College, "O Thou Sublime Evening Star." The audience was
3
18 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
requested to pass into the governor's parlors to be present at a reception
in charge of Col. Rogers, Detroit, given to President Angell, by Gover-
nor Warner, the Judges of the Supreme Court, State Officers, Dr. Snyder
and faculty of the Michigan Agricultural College, officers of the Pioneer
and Historical Society, Mayor of Lansing, Alumni of the University
of Michigan, and citizens. In the absence of Mrs. Warner, the Gov-
ernor was assisted by Mrs. A. T. Bliss, widow of ex-Governor Bliss.
Refreshments were served in the corridors, and, by special request the
Industrial School Boys repeated the "Yellow and the Blue," being highly
complimented by Dr. Angell. The Alumni of the University held a meet-
ing at which James M. Reasoner, State Reporter of the Supreme Court
was made temporary chairman with power to nominate officers for
permanent organization to co-operate with the State Historical Society,
holding its meetings at the same date. The chairman of the committee
was Walter Foster, with Miss Mary Nell McKay, Dr. Harry Haze, Prof.
Allen, State Geologist, and Mrs. Frank McKibbin the other members.
The two hundred resident graduates could easily make this an influ-
ential organization.
At the opening meeting Wednesday, June 8th, at two o'clock, Dr.
J. J. Marker of Wayne, Michigan, sang "Song of Waiting," after which
Mr. Burton appointed the following as a committee on election of offi-
cers for the ensuing year: Mrs. Mary C. Spencer, Rev. Collins, Messrs.
Stockwell, Martin and Frost. These met in the office of the State libra-
rian and presented the following ticket: O. M. Burton, president, De-
troit; William L. Jenks, vice-president, Port Huron; Henry R. Patten-
gill, secretary, Lansing; B. F. Davis, treasurer, Lansing; Board of Trus-
tees, Lawton T. Hemans, Mason; J. V. Barry, Lansing; Mrs. Nathan
Judson, Lansing; Committee of Historians, Junius E. Beal, Ann Arbor;
Rev. Frank O'Brien, Kalamazoo; Clarence E. Bement, Lansing; Joseph
Greusel, Detroit; Judge J. H. Steere, Sault Ste. Marie; Collector, Mrs.
Florence S. Babbitt, Ypsilanti, which report was unanimously adopted.
The program was then taken up by a paper on Names of Michigan
Counties and their Derivation, by William L. Jenks of Port Huron. An
intermission was announced during which punch and wafers were served.
Considerable discussion arose over Mr. Jenks' paper, and suggestions
how to induce the different county pioneer societies to co-operate with
this Society in regard to local work and regular meetings. Moved by
Mr. Finney that the local pioneer societies of the State be notified from
three to six months in advance of the annual meeting of the State So-
ciety, and that each society be requested to send annual reports and
delegates. This was carried.
Auditor General O. B. Fuller gave a sketch of Charles E, Foote, Kala-
mazoo, Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
ANNUAL MEETING, 1910 19
Mr. Puller was a seatmate of Mr. Foote in the House of Representatives.
Dr. Marker sang, "Bonnie, Sweet Bessie" and "Drink to Me Only
With Thine Eyes." Mrs. Winifred Dodge of Adrian gave an interesting
paper on "Landmarks of Lenawee County." Mrs. M. B. Ferrey reported
the gifts presented at the meeting and also read a short memoir of Mrs.
Sophie Bingham Buchanan of Grand Rapids. Dr. Marker sang, "Down
Among the Dead Men," which closed the afternoon's program.
The exercises were opened Wednesday evening at 7 :30 o'clock with a
song by the boys of the Industrial School, the "Language of the Flag."
This was a poem written by the speaker of the evening, Will Carleton
and set to music by Joseph Rix of Lansing, leader of a local orchestra.
The boys displayed the United States and Michigan flags, making a very
pretty sight. A paper on "The History of the Diocese of Grand Rapids,"
by Father Robert William Brown of Grand Rapids, reviewed the church
and showed its marvelous growth.
Dr. Marker sang "Kavanaugh," after which the feature of the whole
occasion was the lecture of Will Carleton. Mr. Carleton claimed Mich-
igan as his birthplace and said that living in New York City was only
temporary, and that he was acting with other Michigan residents as
missionaries, for God w^as surely in Michigan. He recited many of his
poems leading up to them with little bits of advice, considerable pathos,
and very much humor. His claim to the sufferings from pioneer pri-
vations because liis father had told him of them, his illustrations of the
progress of the times, through music in the churches, donation parties,
schools, funerals, Fourth of July's, and automobiles, were surely pioneer
reminiscences. But philosophy was not ignored, and his remark that
joy and sorrow touched so closely on each other's heels, was proven by
the fact that the echoes of laughter raised by the humor of the speaker
had not ceased before the memory of losses experienced or grief en-
dured, sobered the audience. The Senate Chamber was crowded to the
doors, and the speaker's power to hold and interest them so great that
many remained standing during the entire time he occupied the rostrum.
20 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS
BY C. M. BURTON
I always feel that the address of the president, which is supposed to
precede our annual meeting, is superfluous, when he has so little to
say. The reports of the various officers include nearly everything that
can be told of the work performed by the Society. The annual meeting
is mostly taken up with the election of officers and giving the members
an opportunity to make new and renew old acquaintances. Of late the
society has had two meetings each year; the annual meeting in June,
and a mid-winter meeting in some city of the State other than the
capital. At these two meetings the public was always invited, and the
proceedings known to every one, but besides these meetings there is a
year of hard work that the public knows little about.
Mrs. Ferrey, who is in charge of the rooms in the Capitol can always
be found at that work, and in addition, there, is the work of the various
committees that is going on all the time. The collection of materials for
our annual publication; the supervision of the printing; making of the
indexes, and the final distribution of our books among the libraries and
schools of the State, take up the entire time. All this work is done
without the knowledge of many of the members of the Society, and this
is the real work that occupies every working day from the first of June
in each year, until the thirty-first day of each succeeding May.
During the past year, as you will observe from the reports of the offi-
cers of the Society, we have been re-printing some of the books of which
the supply was exhausted. We have also added one new volume to our
collection, and have volume thirty-seven nearly finished. Upon the com-
pletion of that volume, we will have issued thirty -nine volumes, con-
sisting of two volumes of indexes and thirty-seven volumes of annual
publications.
Several years ago we found, in the Oity of Washington, a mass of
manuscripts that had been collected by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, the
great Indian writer. These papers were taken care of by the Smithsonian
Institution, and copied for our use. Some of them were printed in vol-
ume thirty-six and many more will appear in volume thirty-seven.
I hope soon to see a volume filled with the Margry papers. Pierre
Margry was the archivist of Paris for many years, and collected and
printed six volumes of documents relative to the early explorations of
Lasalle and others in this part of the new world. The books were
printed in French and are not well known among students who do not
REPORT OF SECRETARY 21
read that language. We are having these works carefully examined,
collated with the original documents and translated for our use. The
printing in our series will begin soon, and we will look forward to that
book with great expectations, feeling assured that every historical so-
ciety in America will be as much interested in it as we are.
I think I am not overestimating the matter when I state that the
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society is doing as good work as any
societv in the United States.
REPORT OF SECRETARY H. R, PATTENGILL, 1910.
The Historical Societies of the United States are so widely separated
that we do not realize there are between 400 and 500, 300 of which are
duly listed. Nearly every state is represented; South Dakota and
Arkansas being among the later ones. Practical work in the Society
of California stopped in 1895, and though it was revived it soon after
disappeared completely with many valuable records and exhibits, during
the fire which followed the earthquake of 1906.
Several states publish no regular books, but confine themselves to re-
ports and pamphlets. Alabama and Mississippi have adopted a State
Department of Archives and History, and Tennessee is organizing along
the same line. Minnesota makes a specialty of geneology. Michigan's
State Library is becoming very rich in genealogical lore. Pennsylvania
turned her attention to local histories. Wisconsin's pre-eminence is
British history especially referring to the Old Northwest. Connecticut
lias 1,300 works on local New England history. Kansas and Missouri
have files of all the newspapers in the respective states, and each editor
becomes ex-officio a member of the State Historical Society. New York
expends |50,000 for historical work. New Jersey publishes state
papers, which include public documents, marriage and death records,
and genealogies. Vermont divides its work into three divisions, viz. : his-
tory, natural history, and horticulture. Massachusetts, New 1'ork and
Pennsylvania have the largest societies, expending respectively, $18,000,
$12,000 and $24,000 annually. Wisconsin leads, with $43,000 besides en-
dowments which swell the sum to $55,000 annually.
Many cities give local grants, Buffalo making an appropriation of
$5,000 annually. Our own Detroit spreads a tax of $15,000 yearly for its
art museum.
Three states house their historical societies in magnificent buildings;
viz.: Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania; Wisconsin expending
nearly half a million on building and furnishings.
22 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Michigan is the only state using its historical books for educational
purposes. It expends less money for the same amount of work than
any other state. Numbered consecutively, it has the largest number of
volumes, although if you count all State departmental reports Massa-
chusetts heads the list.
When once our State is thoroughly aroused to the immense wealth of
historic material, to the unique features of events, to its variety
of resources and interests, and the study of Michigan history made
compulsory with both teachers and schools, we shall have better and
more loyal citizens. In the examinations of the libraries, calling direct
attention of schools and clubs to the neglect of local and State history,
the clerk, the last two years, has visited over twenty counties, with the
result of arousing local interest and enthusiasm among the listeners.
More time and study has been given the subject and many historic sites
located and marked.
This year we have to record the death of the following members : Dr.
John R. Bailey of Mackinac Island, formerly a surgeon in the regular
U. S. army, and author of book on Old Mackinac ; Dr. J. W. Hagadorn,
for many years a practicing physician in Lansing; Dr. William H. Haze
whose obituary is included in this volume; Frederick M. Cowles one of
Lansing's pioneers who always brought a fine bouquet for both the county
and State pioneer meetings; Arthur C. Bird, formerly secretary of the
Michigan Agricultural College, and filling the office of Dairy and Pure
Food Commissioner at the time of his death; Captain James A. Baker,
a veteran of the Civil War; Lester Hudson and wife for many years
residents of Lansing; Henry Whiteley an editor of Millersburg, but
formerly connected with the State Land Office at Lansing; Hon. E. O.
Grosvenor whose biography will be found in this volume; Mrs. Sophie
Bingham Buchanan who sang Indian duets at our meeting with her
sister Mrs. Gilbert of Grand Rapids; P. H. Warner whose memorial
written by his son, ex-Governor Fred M. Warner, follows; Hon. Arthur
Hill whose memoir appears in this volume; Judge John Patterson a
valuable member of and contributor to this Society; Mrs. Mary A.
Barber, wife of a former esteemed vice-president of this organization.
GIFTS AND LOANS 23
GIFTS AND LOANS TO THE MUSEUM, JUNE, 1909, TO JUNE, 1910
Fork, presented by Bradley Messer, Perrinton, brought to Michigan, 1879.
Six shells from "Wenona," Bay City, presented by C. S. Grossman, New York
City.
Presented by Mrs. George A. Dyer and daughter: Twenty-two badges; Bible,
1844; Bible, 1846, (Roman Catholic with Crucifixion frontispiece); Religious
Tradesman, 1804, with preface by Isaac Watts; old English reader; Odd Fellows
offering, 1852; 'hymn book, 1820; Paisley shawl; Dresden figure; piece of lace
curtain used during Grant's administration; piece apple tree under which Lee
surrendered; bead bag over one hundred years old, made by Maine Indians;
geological maps of Michigan; framed picture; copper from upper peninsula.
English reader, dated June 3, 1827, presented by Mrs. M. Cole, Norvell, also old
letters dating from 1850-1889; promissory note and stamp, 1866; hand sewing
machine, candle snuffer with Japanese tray, book "Infidelity."
Bake oven, used in 1836, presented by Mrs. Carrie Hallenback.
Bullet mould used in war of 1812, presented by W. L. Brown.
Presented by James E. Pilcher, New Director of National Volunteer Emergency
Service, book of marriage certificates, 1834-1838; book on Life of Elijah H. Pilcher;
ministerial appointments of the Foo Chow Mission; marriage certificate of Timothy
Holsworth.
Red hoop skirt, worn in 1865, presented by Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews.
Presented by Mrs. Fannie Zimmerman, four early books.
Young deer horn, presented by Walter Kimball.
Leather wallet, used for thirty-five years by Walter Kimball and presented by
him.
Plate, presented by Miss Rhoda Bradish.
Papers containing articles of pioneer days, Charles E. Barnes, Battle Creek, Mich.
Photograph 16th Michigan Regiment, Fredericksburg, 1836, presented by George
D. Sidman, Philadelphia, Pa.
Wooden- plate or trencher, presented by Bethiah and Charles Bradish, Adrian.
Old razor, Miss Rhoda Bradish, Adrian; also old spectacles and case, buckle,
Ontario Repository, (4) 1809 West Farmer, 1821 (2).
Sheep shears, Charles Bradish, Adrian.
Three candle moulds and old papers, by Mrs. Charles Bradish, Adrian.
Apple parer, harness making machine, knee buckle and glasses, shuttle for
weaving yarn, parts of wooden loom, presented by Bethiah Bradish.
Lime water pitcher and cake basket, Parmelia L. Stone, of Sheridan.
Lock from house, Rix Robinson of Ada.
Beads from Indian grave, Mrs. Headley, of Ada.
Relics from Indian graves, Mrs. Burt of Ada.
Michigan Manuals for the years 1871, '73, '75, '77, '79, '81, '83, '85 (three), '89,
'91, '93, presented by Mrs. George Van Buren.
Loaned by Mrs. Florence Babbitt, one pewter pitcher.
Tin cup used by Newell A. Dyer, assistant surgeon in Civil War, presented by
Mrs. Dyer, Bath; also tin pepper shaker over seventy years old; blue and white
saucer over seventy years old; stone jug, steelyards and iron hook; one sampler
made by Mrs. H. J. Ware, dated 1832, presented by Mrs. Dyer, Bath.
One candle stick, china; fifteen friendship cards, presented by Mrs. E. M. Brock-
24 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
way, Mason; also wooden sand shaker; black straw bonnet, china match safe;
candle mould; twenty-eight marriage certificates.
Presented by Miss Mary Brockway, Mason, Mich., glass tumber; brown jug;
pieces of bric-a-brac; match safe; glass bottle; tallow candle; bone handled knife.
English Bible of 1874, presented by Mrs. Sabrina P. Ayers.
Book on Solomon's temple (1840), presented by Anne Bobins.
Hymnal, owned by Alvah Holmes, brought to Michigan in 1860, bought in 1853.
Picture, Detroit and Michigan Methodist Conferences, presented by Mrs. E. M.
Brockway, Mason.
Received from Mrs. Ellen Judson, picture, photograph of brown pottery, copy of
Co. F. Enterprise, published in Santiago, July 26, 1898.
Bound book from Missouri Historical Society.
Pamphlet, "Founder of St. Louis," Missouri Historical Society.
Portrait of Charles J. Walker, presented by the Board of Correction and Char-
ities, also portrait of F. H. Rankin.
ARTICLES PRESENTED THE SOCIETY AT THE JUNE MEETING, 1910
Badge presented by Mr. George Dallas Sidman, worn by him when visiting
McKinley in the spring of 1898; badge worn at the unveiling of the Custer monu-
ment, Monroe, Mich., June 4, 1910, with picture of Gen. Custer.
Presented by Mrs. N. F. Jenison, post card picture of boulder marking location
of the first house at Tecumseh, Mich., erected by Musgrove Evans and wife, June
2, 1824.
Presented by (Mrs.) Dr. Blanche Haines, Three Rivers, two pictures of skeletons.
Presented by Mr. Clarence Frost, Adrian, Mich., strap rail used by the Michigan
Southern Railroad, from 1835-52.
Presented by Mrs. Maria Miles, Mrs. Carey's daughter, umbrella given -to Mrs.
Carey by Abraham Lincoln in the year 1864.
Mrs. Florence S. Babbitt's collection, presented to the society:
One china vase, white with gilt decorations, handle on each side, white leaves
in relief.
One china celery tray, green leaf shape, with brown veins.
One earthern tea pot, man with costume of red, green and tan.
One blue china box, about eight inches long, medallion in center of cover, with
man's head in medallion, white and gilt trimming.
One white Ridgway syrup pitcher with metal top.
One Tom Thumb pitcher (Parian marble), decorations in relief.
China ornament, figure of a man, handle projecting from center, receptacle for
holding things on each side.
Presented by W. E. Grotty, engraving of the Battle of Gettysburg, taken from
the painting shown in the Cyclorama, which cost $40,000.
REPORT OP TREASURER 25
REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY
31, 1910
To the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society:
I herewith submit my annual report, as follows:
RECEIPTS.
Cash on hand June 1st, 1909 f 964 51
Received for membership fees 45 00
Received from State of Michigan 2,000 00
|3,009 51
DISBURSEMENTS
Expenses, Annual Meeting $92 50
Expenses, Board Meeting 56 65
Expenses, Incidental . 46 99
Salary, Mrs. Ferrey 1,003 00
Salary, Miss Dew 30 00
J. S. Fox, Editorial Work 320 50
Joseph Greusel, Editorial Work 240 28
Miss M. Agnes Burton, Editorial W,ork 149 00
Mrs. Florence S. Babbitt, Fire Place Collection 291 23
Mrs. Florence S. Babbitt, Brown Collection 515 00
$2,745 15
Balance on hand June 1st, 1910 264 36
B. F. DAVIS,
Treasurer.
26 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
Byron A. Firmer, Reference Librarian of the University of Michigan
presented a report as delegate from this Society to the American His-
torical Association, as follows:
Permit me to report without detail that the section of the American
Historical Association "On the problems of State and local historical
societies'' held a meeting in the hall of the house of delegates at Rich-
mond, Va., Thursday forenoon, December 31st, at which some dozen or
more societies were represented. I was the only representative from
our Michigan Society. The chairman was Evarts B. Greene, professor in
the University of Illinois, and secretary, St. George Sioussat, professor
in the University of the South. The program was as follows:
(a) Report of committee on Co-operation among Historical Societies,
by Dunbar Rowland, director of the Department of Archives and His-
tory, Mississippi.
(b) The Application of Photography to Archive and Historical Work,
by Waldo G. Leland, Carnegie Institution, of Washington.
(c) Historical Exhibitions, by Albert C. Myers, secretary of the
Pennsylvania History Club.
The conclusion of the committee on Co-operation was that the best
thing that could be undertaken by the Historical Societies interested
would be the printing or reproducing by photography of the principal
documents connected with the history of the Mississippi Valley. Mr.
Leland, who has been representing the Carnegie Institution in the records
of France relating to America, within the past year, gave a very clear
exposition of the convenience and value of the use of photography in
reproducing documents, and showed by a few examples that quite a
percentage of our reprinted documents were in some respects untrust-
worthy on that account. It was thought that the Canadian govern-
ment would have to check over very carefully a large portion of its
documents. Prof. Jameson of the Carnegie Institution supplemented
Mr. Rowland's report for the committee by explaining that the expense
of the proposed co-operative work of the Mississippi Valley was esti-
mated at about |2,000. They thought that if they could get ten socie-
ties to join in the project it might be carried out. Mr. Ro-
land of Mississippi said that that State would contribute $200
towards the undertaking. Mr. Owen said that Alabama would
contribute $200. A member from Nebraska thought perhaps
Nebraska would be able to put about $100 into it. Mr.
Thwaites from Wisconsin said that they could depend on $200 from
REPORT ON MICHIGAN STATUE 27
that State. I stated that I was not authorized to say anything definite
for the Michigan Society, but I felt quite sure that we would be able
somehow to enter into the subscription. Illinois State Society has some
doubts as to their being able to devote anything from their finances. In
talking with Prof. Jameson later, he thought that the Chicago Historical
Society might go into it. Perhaps something may be expected from
Ohio and Missouri. It seems that the work cannot be undertaken unless
|2,000 is assured, and you will probably have communication from Sec-
retary Sioussat or the committee on co-operation, Avhich was continued,
asking assistance and explaining more fully the reasons and probable
value of the work. It seems to me that by going into this we will get
documents valuable to our own State and avoid more duplication of
work. In that respect it might be an economy to enter into this co-
operative project.
In connection with, the matter, it is asked by this committee that pro-
jects for reprinting of documents by local societies may be delayed or
held in abeyance for a while until the question of photographic repro-
duction may have been considered and the proposed co-operative pro-
ject determined.
Mr. Finney also presented the following report:
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STATUE FOR STATUARY HALL
At the annual meeting of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
in June, 1909, a committee consisting of Byron A. Finney, Ann Arbor;
Edward Cahill, Lansing, and Joseph Greusel, Detroit, was appointed to
take into consideration the advisability of the suggestion to the State
legislation by this Society of a, statue for Michigan's remaining niche in
Statuary Hall in the Capitol at Washington. By the act of Congress es-
tablishing this^hall as a national gallery, each State was entitled to two
statues. Most of the States have already placed one and some of them
two statues in this hall. The legislature of Michigan has placed there
one statute, that of Governor Lewis Cass (in 1889), but has not yet se-
lected the other.
One name considered by yonr committee, that of Father James Mar-
quette, was found to have been already chosen by Wisconsin in 1895.
That State has not yet chosen its second statue. Many names were
considered by the committee, among them being the following: Senator
Chandler, Governor Blair, Father Pierce, Judge Cooley, Cadillac,
Pontiac, General Ouster, Governor Mason, President Angell, Peter White,
28 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Governor Felch, Governor Alger, Senator McMillan, Senator Palmer,
Major Gladwin, Judge Campbell, and others.
The committee did not feel justified in reporting the name of any
living person and could not agree on any man in the past history of
the State whose prominence and influence seemed to warrant the proposal
of his name for this statue with any prospect of such recommendation
being accepted favorably by the legislature.
Mr. Greusel of the committee was strongly in favor of Major Glad-
win and his reasons therefor may properly be included in this as a
minority report: "With here and there an exception the masses of our
own people and the entire population, one might say of the country
outside the limits of the State, regard Michigan as being of very recent
creation, as far as concerns its organized government. Most people
date it from 1837, others go back to 1812, and only here and there a
student of history knows aught of the anterior government. It might be
worth while to correct these listless and inaccurate ideas concerning
established civil government in Michigan, and make more prominent the
historical fact that our peninsulas were a Crown colony of Great
Britain, and before that, of France. Actual colonization received little
encouragement under the French! regime, It was different with the Eng-
lish. On that account let us go back to 1760, and conspicuously to 1763,
and select Major Henry Gladwin, commandant at Detroit, and civil
governor. This Gladwin was a soldier in Braddock's army. He learned
from Washington lessons in Indian warfare. These lessons stood him
in good stead at the siege of Detroit by Pontiac, 1763-4. The figure
of Gladwin would please the artistic taste and lend itself well to sculp-
ture. The old style knee breeches and hose, buckled shoes, ribboned
garters, ruffled shirt and lace wristbands; and such a picturesque, long
flowing and embroidered coat as we are accustomed to see in the pictures
of Washington. The figure of this man thus arrayed, with the insignia
of his army rank, his sword, his chapeau, and his long hair in a be-
ribboned queue, would arrest the attention of visitors to Statuary Hall.
It would be picturesque beyond anything else that is there, and most
worthy in an artistic sense. The remark of the stranger would be
'Who is that?' and the answer, 'Major Gladwin, commandant at De-
troit in 1763, at the siege by Pontiac/ would fix a historical date, and
prove the extent of our history as antedating the Declaration of Inde-
pendence."
Your committee, therefore, realizing that the near future may bring
men prominent enough for this nomination, although perhaps favorable
to the remembrance of a representative of our earlier history, beg leave
to report that they do not think best to make a definite recommenda-
tion for Michigan's second statue at this time, and would ask to be dis-
charged from further consideration of the subject.
MIDWINTER MEETING KALAMAZOO 29
The chairman of the committee has appended to this report a compila-
tion of the various petitions, resolutions, etc., connected with the selec-
tion and presentation by the Michigan legislature to the United States
Congress for Statuary Hall of the statute of Lewis Cass.
Respectfully,
BYRON A. FINNEY,
EDWARD OAHILL,
JOSEPH GREUSEL.
Lansing, June 8, 1910.
The report was accepted and the committee discharged.
Mr. Finney also sent the Society a very comprehensive report of the
full proceedings of placing the first statue of Gen. Cass in the Statuary
Hall at Washington, D. C. This report has been filed in the archives
of the Society. The legislature of 1910 and 1911 passed an act placing
the second statue to Zach Chandler, at a cost of |14,000 and one thou-
sand for expenses. See Pub. Acts Session, 1911 p. 13G.
THE SIXTH MIDWINTER MEETING AT KALAMAZOO
The Sixth Midwinter meeting was held in the Court House at Kala-
mazoo, Tuesday afternoon, January 31, 1911. The session was opened
with a prayer by Rev. W. B. Dickinson of the Congregational Church.
George C. Winslow, president of the Commercial Club, in the absence
of Mayor Charles H. Farrell, followed with an address of welcome as
follows :
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is my pleasing duty to assure you, that you and the Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Society are very welcome. Not only are we
glad to be honored by your coming, but we expect to be greatly benefited
in many ways. We also hope to show so much interest in all matters
pertaining to the grand work in which you are engaged that you will
not think your efforts have been in vain.
Some of us think we realize, in a slight degree, the value of all that
a historical society stands for, and we trust our conception of the mat-
ter may be widened after hearing what you have to offer us. We also
hope from what you can assure our people that a permanent society
will, in the near future, be the result of your visit; for we are sure it
only needs the quickening spirit of your presence and the warmth of
your help to make such an organization a success in every way.
30 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Our section of the State is rich in all that could be asked for in his-
toric material, for since the days of the early missionaries, "Those Ad-
vance Agents of Civilization," up to the present time, we can boast of
a line of unusual interest. This beautiful valley was indeed "The
Happy Hunting Ground" of the Indian; our river the avenue. of travel
for tlie missionary and trapper; our "Oak Openings" the charm of the
settler and beyond compare. Our very name is music to the ear of
strangers and men of letters have striven to best sing our praises.
It is strange that only at this late day we fall in line to save the
remnant of a heritage which will soon be forever lost, and if even a por-
tion shall be rescued from oblivion, it will be worth many times the
cost to us, for those who seek in future years what has to us seemed
so commonplace. Again allow me to express to you a hearty welcome.
0. M. Burton, president of the Society responded in substance as fol-
lows :
The present State society was not of as early origin as the Historical
Society of Michigan, usually known as the Detroit Historical Society,,
founded by General Cass in 1828, Among its most prominent members
were Henry R. Schoolcraft, Major Henry Whiting, Major John Biddle
and several others well known to every student of Michigan history.
Schoolcraft was placed at the head of the Indian department; Whiting
received promotion in the U. S. army and Biddle became a member of
Congress. This caused the failure of the society and although attempts
were made to revive it which flourished for a short time, it was not until
1874 that a permanent one was started. The volumes have been since
issued annually with a degree of regularity. The latest books have con-
tained the Cadillac, Schoolcraft, Bond and Perrault papers which are
very valuable historically.
But the work would never be accomplished without the cooperation
of the counties. Kalamazoo should gather, give and preserve of its great
wealth of material. We should secure all records pertaining to Abraham
Edwards, member of the legislative council, Titus Bronson, founder of
beautiful Kalamazoo, and others. Mr. Burton expressed the pleasure
of the Society in seeing so many pioneers present, and hoped their in-
terest would be quickened, and that they would continue to tell their
stories not onty in county meetings and pioneer picnics, but that these
should become a part of the States' publications. Each president of the
county societies, becomes ex-officio a vice-president of the State Society,
and as such should be a gatherer and contributor to the Collections.
The Gaynor club of Kalamazoo College gave some selections which
elicited much applause. Mrs. Alexander Custard of Mendon gave a fine
paper on the "French Settlements in St. Joseph county." She delivered
her address without notes in such a pleasing and conversational man-
LETTER FROM JOSEPH LOMAX 31
ner that she interested all. Hon. E. W. DeYoe read a letter to J. D.
Clement from Joseph Lomax, first president of the Grand Rapids and
Indiana railroad, who now resides in Indianapolis. Mr. Lomax had
just celebrated his one hundredth birthday.
Indianapolis, Jan. 25, 1911.
J. D. Clement, Esq.:
Dear Sir: — Your letter of Dec. 29 came duly to hand, in reply to
which I enclose a short sketch of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Ry. Co.
Respectfully yours,
JOSEPH LOMAX.
The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company organized by Joseph
Lomax, who was its first president, was originally organized to establish
a railroad between the city of Grand Rapids and the Ohio river. But
disagreements and failures in several companies caused an abandonment
of that line and the organization of the line from Grand Rapids to Fort
Wayne, afterwards extended to Mackinaw.
At this time there were about half a dozen "Landgrant Railroads"
in the State of Michigan, and the State required each to construct a
section of its road before the next meeting of the State legislature.
Some of the railroad companies complied but the Grand Rapids &
Indiana Railroad Company applied for an extension of time, and at each
session the legislature granted an extension of time. The lands had
been generally described by agents and employes of the road, and the
president of the company passed over them on two several occasions and
made very careful examination as to the character and quality of the
soil and timber, as well as the character and value of the natural water
power. The result of this examination induced him to place a very
high value upon the land grant.
To secure and hold the land grant, several congressional acts and many
acts of the State legislature had to be obtained — all which were done
under the management of the company's president. He wrote all the
Articles of Association and accompanying papers, completing its or-
ganization from its Indiana terminus to the Straits of Mackinaw.
He first went over the line accompanied only by a professional packer.
At this time there was no white settlement after ten or twelve miles
north of Big Rapids along the route. Agents of the company were sent
to England and employed James Samuel, an engineer of high standing
representing English capital, to come to America for the purpose of
making a professional examination of the entire project. In the sum-
mer of 1861 Mr. Samuel with H. V. Poor of New York commenced plans
for the construction of the railroad. But soon thereafter the first Bull
Run defeat occurred and Mr. Samuel returned to England declaring to
32 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the president of the company that he believed that we had "no Govern-
ment" and that he would report to the parties who had sent him to
America, and efforts to secure European negotiations were suspended.
In the spring of 1866 the president of the company resigned for the
purpose of having Judge Samuel Hanna take charge. Judge Hanna was
elected president of. the railroad company and published a pamphlet of
over one hundred pages exhibiting the condition of the road, and value
of its land grant. He was a successful railroad builder and intended
to complete the first twenty miles beginning at the city of Grand
Rapids. But a few days after its publication he became ill and died
suddenly.
The following statements are from this report: "Some progress has
been made in the surveys and grading of portions of the road, but owing
to the rebellion, the high prices of materials the difficulty in procuring
labor and its high prices, and the general discouragement produced by
the uncertainty of war, nothing has been done, and no progress made
in the work for the last five years — until last year, when the grading
of portions of the line between Grand Kapids and Port Wayne was
resumed, and some ninety or one hundred thousand dollars of additional
work done. There was also work done in grading on the twenty miles
next north of Grand Rapids, which is nearly ready for the iron, and a
large portion of the ties on hand.
"The Company's Financial condition : Upon examination into the
Company's financial affiairs, I am prepared to state that the following
figures may be relied upon as approximately correct:
G. R. & I. R. R. Co. Dr.
To capital stock disposed of $ 709,036 18
First mortgage bonds disposed of 111,000 00
Floating debt 188,948 67
11,008,984 85
G. R. & I. R. R. Co. Cr.
Work done equal to the earth work and bridging 61.3
miles |429,100 00
Rights of Way obtained 50,000 00
Land Grant expenses, interest and discounts, and all
other incidental expenditures 529,884 85
11,008,984 85
Municipal bonds voted and individual bonds taken on subscriptions
to the Company's capital stock, about f 600,000 .00.
The Company's Land Grant of about one million acres under prudent
MIDWINTER MEETING, KAL.AMAZOO 33
management after the construction of the road may be made to realize
110,000,000.00.
On the request of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Joseph K.
Edgerton was made president of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Rail-
road Company. He commenced consulting the Pennsylvania Company
but delayed work on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company.
At the ensuing meeting of the State legislature he and the railroad
company applied for an extension of time for construction — but in his
application he estimated the cost at several millions over Judge Hanna's
estimate. ***************
Dr. DeYoe spoke by invitation on the first postoffice in Kalamazoo,
with J. G. Abbott the first postmaster. The office stood on corner of
Rose and Main streets. Mails were very irregular having to be brought
over the Indian trails; often being received only once a week, its ar-
rival making a gala day. At the end of a year and a half the office
was moved to the corner of South and Park streets. This point was
complained of so much that it was then placed on East Main street just
east of Burdick street and Isaac Willard was appointed postmaster. It
remained there six years, Dr. Edwin Post as postmaster for one and
one-half years. Anthony Cooley and Frank Marsh also officiated for
short terms as postmasters. Alexander Ransom was postmaster in 1844.
A brick building which stood on First street where the Bank Building
is now was put up and twice demolished. Again it was moved to Pine
street near the Children's Home. Anderson was postmaster four or six
years. In 1853 William De Yoe was made postmaster and N, A.
Balch deputy; since then the postmasters have been Waldo, Dr. Pratt,
Dr. Stone, Kendall, A. J. Shakespeare, James Monroe and for seven or
eight years Frank W. Cornell.
During Dr. Abbott's administration Kalamazoo consisted of seventy-
flve or one hundred settlers and was called Bronson. His home was
opposite the Court House. In 1828 the land office was at Monroe but
was moved to White Pigeon in 1831 and to Bronson in 1834. Land
viewers came from New England and New York. The prevailing money
was called Wild Cat currency. It had no staple value and the gov-
ernment refused to receive anything but gold and silver. In 1835 the
sales of lands of the Kalamazoo office amounted to |4,000,000. There
never was any deficit and honesty was well-known, even the Indians
never molested the settlers and rarely robbed anyone of money. In
1834 the name of Bronson was changed to Kalamazoo. The settlers
came to the country with bags of money. Those fortunate enough to
have horses, throwing them over the pommels of the saddles, others
trudged along on foot with the bags slung over their shoulders. It
was no uncommon thing for these land lookers to stop at the Kala-
5
.34
MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
niazoo House, whose picture is shown on your program, and tying a
tag on the bag of money throw it under the counter and go to bed and
in the morning each received his own intact. Sales ran as high as
$150,000 or $200,000 a month. A week or even ten days were expended
by these land lookers who came from Kent County, Indiana, Lake Mich-
igan and Jackson. When the hotels were crowded the overflow was
taken care of by David Hubbard, Mrs. Daniels, Elmer Hawley and
others. Sometimes there were bushel baskets marked to receive money,
and with full faith in their fellowmen, these prospective land buyers
would deposit their money, climb the ladder to their lodging and were
not disappointed in receiving their money all right the next morning.
Senator Dolliver always contended the country was growing better, but
I doubt if any examples of such integrity could be produced to-day.
Xo robbery as far as known was ever proven or even charged. A land
agent under General Jackson was charged with a defalcation of f 3,000.
Upon the question of his removal the man said no improvement would
result from a change as he did not need any more money, and the new
man would. Kalamazoo at this time was the second largest postomce,
only surpassed by Detroit. The St. Joseph Enterprise (newspaper) was
moved from White Pigeon. Mr. Gilbert contended that in 1836 the
Kalamazoo Gazette was the oldest continuous newspaper outside De-
troit. The first marriage was Isaac Dickery to Miss White. Mr. Wiemar
was a merchant tailor.
The postoffice is a great factor in civilization. In those days there
were no envelopes, all accounts were kept by stamps; newspapers and
letters went by weight, distance also affected the price. Unpaid letters
were five cents collected at either end of the route. If sent over 500
miles, postage ten cents. Now all accounts are by stamps bought from
and paid to the government. It was customary for the postmaster
to do many kind acts for his neighbors in writing their letters as he had
free postage. The postmaster had to make up his mail by billing the
number of letters with amount of postage. One bill reads :
Kalamazoo to Battle Creek, 5 letters, 3 cents each, 15 cents;
Kalamazoo to Battle Creek, 3 papers, 3 cents each, 9 cents;
Kalamazoo to Battle Creek, 3 papers, 6 cents each, 18 cents;
and the bill enclosed. Accounts were required of all letters received and
sent. Kalamazoo is at present third in postomce rank, Detroit leading
and Grand Rapids second. He urged keeping newspaper files as they
would give a good local history.
A violin and piano duet was given by Masters Lester and Wesley
Marston. At the close the visitors were invited to another room where
tea aqd wafers were served by the Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion and the Women's clubs of the city. A fine setting was made by
MIDWINTER MEETING, KALAMAZOO 35
the exhibit of curios, particularly a fine exhibit of Indian relics in charge
of George F. Lamed who explained to the audience the use and value
of many specimens. Mr. E. A. Crane who had contributed much to the
department was detained at Bronson Hospital by serious illness.
Mr. Martin spoke of the Vermontville colony and of the old trails.
Letters of regret were read as follows:
January 30, 1911.
Mr. J. D. Clement, Secretary, The Commercial Club, Kalamazoo, Mich-
igan :
My Dear Mr. Clement : — I am very grateful for the kind invitation of
the Commercial Club and the Pioneer Historical Society of Kalamazoo,
to speak at their mid-winter convention, which will be held in your
city on January 31.
It would afford me the greatest pleasure if I could arrange my en-
gagements so as to be present on this occasion, but I find it will be im-
possible.
I fully recognize the successful and effective work which has been
performed by the Society in the field of historical research. The efforts
of those who have achieved so much along this line are of great value
to Michigan and worthy of high commendation.
Please convey to the members of your Club my deep appreciation of
the splendid things they are accomplishing in the business and civic
development of your city. Such organizations as yours represent a high
standard of citizenship and are furthering and fostering the best there is
in business and municipal life.
With assurances of my high regard, I am
Yours very sincerely,
CHASE S. OSBORN,
Governor.
Galesburg, Mich., Jan. 27, 1911.
Mr. Louis H. Conger, Secretary Commercial Club, Kalamazoo, Mich.:
Dear Sir: — When I accepted the invitation, by your predecessor, to
take a modest part in the entertainment by your organization of the
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, that acceptance was condi-
tional upon my recovery from physicial complications then existing.
To my profound regret, those complications still exist in so aggra-
vated a form, as make my presence an utter impossibility.
Realizing that the disappointment is mine, and trusting that no in-
convenience may result from the above facts and also wishing the Com-
mercial Club and their honored guests unqualified enjoyment of the
occasion, I remain Respectfully Yours,
I. B. ROGERS.
36 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
At the evening session over 500 persons were present. The opera
house was staged by the management with appropriate settings. The
exercises were in charge of the Lucinda H. Stone Chapter of the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution, Mrs. H. B. Peck, chairman. The cos-
tumes were very rare and elegant, many heirlooms being exhibited.
Mrs. E. N. Dingly, as Dolly Madison, carried out her part very ably and
gracefully. Several ladies appeared with the extinct hoop skirts; one
work-basket used was over one hundred years old and another lady had
a choice fan of the same age. Snuffboxes and knitting work were also
displayed. The fife and drum corps of the Grand Army of the Republic
gave an inspiring selection.
"Michigan, My Michigan" was sung, accompanied by Mrs. 0. O. Cutting
on an organ about one hundred years old, and owned by J. D. Clement.
William L. Jenks, vice-president of the Society, made a plea for as-
sistance in securing information how and when names of the several
counties were obtained and their meaning. He gave an amusing account
of his efforts to find the origin of the name of Crawford County. He
also referred to Kakalamazoo or Kenamazoo, meaning "smoky" or "boil-
ing," being given as name for the present county. Mrs. Lombard gave
a solo "Killarney" and sang "Bonnie Doon," when called again on the
program. Mr. Burton introduced Mrs. E. N. Dingley as Dolly Madison
who recited "Whistling in Heaven" and whose return being called for
responded with the song "Kitty Clyde." Several musical selections of
quartettes, solos and choruses were given which elicited much ap-
plause for their genuine sweetness and merit.
A very high tribute was paid by Right Rev. John H. McCormick to
Dr. E. H. Van Deusen, who, during his life was a public benefactor to
Kalamazoo. Father Fitzpatrick read a memoir of William Maybury of
Detroit, written by Rev. John Connolly, A. M., of Detroit, who was
unable to be present. A quartette gave "Nellie Gray" and for an encore
they responded by singing "Juanita." Mrs. Gipp sang "Drink to Me Only
with Thine Eyes" and responded to an encore with "The Old Arm
Chair." A letter of regret to "Dolly Madison" from Governor Osborn
was read by Mr. Burton.
Wednesday morning a board meeting was held but there being no
quorum present only general business could be transacted. At eleven
o'clock carriages and autos conveyed the visitors to Nazareth Academy,
the place being the source of much surprise and great pleasure. The
location is admirable and the buildings fine. The grounds charmingly
laid out and appointments immaculately clean and sanitary, giving evi-
dence of great care and faithfulness. A short program was given in
the Chapel. The Nazareth Band played vigorously and well. The
guests were shown the different departments, including the new Barbour
MIDWINTER MEETING, KALAMAZOO 37
Hall recently dedicated. The Sisters then conducted them to the dining
room where delicious coffee and sandwiches were served. Mr. Burton
spoke words of commendation for the admirable work conducted, and
returned the appreciative thanks of the Society for courtesies so bounti-
fully extended to them.
The afternoon session at two o'clock opened with a musical selection
by the Nazareth Academy Orchestra. Mrs. John den Bleyker prepared
a paper on "Early Schools of Kalamazoo" which was read by Mrs.
Bigelow, owing to the illness of Mrs. den Bleyker. A great deal of
history was brought out and which appears in this publication. The
father-in-law of Mrs. den Bleyker was Nathaniel A. Balch, a prominent
pioneer of the county.
A pupil of Nazareth academy sang "To Mother, Boy, Be True."
George N. Fuller, A. M., of Ann Arbor, told of "The Early Settlement
of Michigan."
A violin solo was encored and a piano solo by Mrs. Lautrette composed
of airs from old melodies was excellently rendered.
The students of Nazareth Academy were asked to repeat their
music which they did and sang "The Last Rose of Summer." A resolu-
tion was offered by Mr. Bement that the invitation from Pontiac to hold
the next mid-winter meeting there be accepted, with Port Huron as
alternate choice. This was carried.
Mrs. J. V. Campbell of Grand Rapids offered the following resolu-
tion, which was unanimously adopted:
Resolved: That the State Pioneer and Historical Society take im-
mediate and necessary steps for the preservation of the so-called Gov-
ernor Stevens T. Mason Flag, which he presented to the Brady Guards
of Detroit, February 22, 1837.
C. E. Beinent gave a paper on "The Needs of the Society."
Mr. Burton emphasized the importance of local assistance. He paid
a fine tribute to the citizens of Kalamazoo who had made this the best
and most important mid- winter meeting ever held. He thought much
of it was due to its being acknowledged the largest educational center
in the State. With such extensive enterprises in hand should follow
the conservation of historical interests. That records of all kinds in-
cluding documents and papers of value and interest which found their
way to the paper-mill in the city and were ground up and information
lost, should be systematically inspected with a view of the preservation
of matters of public interests. Mr. Winslow said the people were too
busy to give a, great deal of time to the past, but he hoped the local
society they were to organize would accomplish results.
Mr. Mary M. Hoyt spoke of her life passed in Yankee Springs Hotel
about mid-way between Grand Rapids and Battle Greek. This edifice
38 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
was known as a tavern, seven stories high, all on the ground floor. She
had known as many as one hundred to be lodged under its roof in
one night. Afterwards she moved to Arcadia in 1851 and in 1857 came
to Kalamazoo. Mrs. Deal, granddaughter of Henry Little, followed with
references to her pioneer ancestors and promised gifts to the museum
representing the family.
Major Soule, for many years treasurer of the University of Michigan,
gave a short biography, explaining that his business had not been that
of chronicler but to pass the hat. He was born in western New York
in 1832, and came to Michigan when two years old and brought his
parents with him. Settling in Calhoun County the Pottawatomie In-
dians were their nearest and almost their only neighbors. He and his
sister were their constant playmates, there being only one white man
they saw very often. The most of their supplies came from Detroit. The
family came into the country with a yoke of oxen and a covered wagon
and a horse fastened behind. Several times they stuck in the mud
and all hands including his sister and himself were obliged to push.
They took what was called the "army route," camping nights, passed
through Canada and St. Clair and reached Marengo at the end of the
week's journey. On the way they were on the lookout for land to pre-
empt and came across quite a number of squatters. One time his father
went on business which occupied him two or three days. The Indians
came to trade. They offered two or three fish for some whiskey. They
made a pocket by tying a corner of their dirty blankets and then wanted
whiskey for fish. His mother feared the effect of liquor on them and
said she had no whiskey. They passed their opinions of such condi-
tions and on their departure they met his father, who was a justice of
the peace, and said to him "Squire, your squaw dam fool no whiskey."
The soldiers came from Fort Wayne to move these Indians when he
was yet a small child.
He gave an account of the funeral of Wap-pi-zik. He had been bitten
by a rattle-snake and the leg had to be amputated but with his wooden
crutch, he could distance most of the runners, getting over the ground
like a greyhound. Squire Soule preached the sermon. On account of
snakes which the Indians avoided and disliked, they placed their dead
in trees, covering them with grass. The bodies, the trees and the In-
dians have been gone several years. In his neighborhood there were
probably about 150 Indians. They usually found them good and never re-
garded them as mean. There was one old fellow who. ranked second to
the chief who used to come to his father and borrow one dollar for
one moon. Returning the money at the time mentioned. He wished to
again beg the loan for two moons. His father marked the money and
after several such experiences invariably found it the original piece. He
MIDWINTER MEETING, KALAMAZOO 39
at last made up his inind that the savage took this way of testing his
friendship. They stopped at Battle Creek where a dance was in progress
and remembered the fiddler and instrument well. The usual price of a
good Indian pony was f 100. He built one of the first cow-catchers ever
used on the railroads.
Mr. Edwin C. Snow gave some pioneer experiences as a printer. His
wages were low and many times his only food was dry bread and none
too plenty at that. He married and settled in the county afterwards,
and seemed to think it wonderful that he raised ten children five of whom
had blue eyes and the other five brown. His brother was older having
been born in 1818 and taught school for fifty-three years.
Miss Anna Gales Fellows of Schoolcraft who was the daughter of
Gol. Abiel Fellows who came to Kalamazoo in 1829, gave some interest-
ing items. Her father \vas the first postmaster in the county and made
the first tax assessment, carried the mail from Elkhart, Indiana to
Kalamazoo Prairie. He organized the first school district in Prairie
Ronde, owned the first sawmill there, built the first house, getting his
lumber from Bronson. He was buried from the new house built on the
same farm, in 1833.
Haas's orchestra opened the closing evening session, with selections
from patriotic airs. Dr. Slocum of Kalamazoo College spoke on the
value of historical work and hoped the lessons received from the State
Society and its work would bring forth results. Mr. Winslow urged the
formation of a local society. The appointment of a committee for this
purpose was proposed which resulted in the following names: George
Winslow, chairman, Dr. Slocum, Mrs. A. J. Mills, Albert Little, all of
Kalamazoo an'd Miss A. Thomas, Schoolcraft.
Mrs. M. B. Ferrey was called upon by the president to suggest work
that could properly be done by county societies. She approved of the
plan of Mr. Winslow, of making a card catalogue of short biographies of
the pioneers, these to be deposited in the largest public library in the
county. All historic spots should be located and suitably marked. The
outlook was encouraging from the increased interest in the study of
history. She mentioned recent markers placed by the citizens of Adrian,
Tecumseh, White Pigeon, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Marquette, Mackinac
and Monroe. Children should be encouraged in this work and more
history studied in our schools. The Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion of Menominee offered a prize for the best history of the city and
this was taken by a foreigner.
The orchestra gave selections from old familiar songs which were well
received by the audience.
Mrs. Henry Hulst in charge of English work in the Grand Rapids schools
gave a fine paper on "Indian Myths and Legends." Many of these she
40 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
collected from descendants of the Indians. She expects to put this in
form for use in our schools and for library work among the children.
Mrs. Hulst's clear, strong voice and engaging manner gave additional
charm to her work.
Mr. Hemans gave an address as he said of "A Pioneer by One of Them."
He recounted the life and labors of the Boy Governor, Stevens T. Mason.
Mr. Hemans for some time has been engaged on a volume on the life
of our first governor but the stress of public and private business has
rendered its completion impossible. We hope soon to see it in book
form. Mrs. Ferrey read a memoir of Capt. C. E. Foote, written by
Auditor-General O. B. Fuller.
After a selection by the orchestra, Mr. Albert Little, of Litchfield,
gave an account of his trip to Michigan in pioneer days, coming from
Vermont by stage, Erie Canal and lake schooners, followed by a two
weeks ride in a wagon drawn by two oxen, reaching Galesburg, Novem-
ber 11, 1831. He built a mill at Prairie Ronde. A trip from White
Pigeon to Galesburg and return consumed two weeks. Frank Little died
on South street. He had a log house 24x18 with an attic. Ralph Tuttle
and wife occupied part, one-half being the Little home, and the other
remaining half the Tuttle. First mill at Ctomstock was built by Rich-
mond. In 1835 he removed to Grandville securing 1,500 acres govern-
ment land, trading with Judge Hinsdale of Richmond, father of Mrs.
Lucinda Hinsdale Stone. The land office was at White Pigeon. He
spoke of as much as $30,000 being brought into the hotels in bags and
these were left like hand baggage now, and found perfectly safe.
William Strong said postage was twenty -five cents per letter; his
grandfather, who was county clerk, received a letter and was obliged
to borrow money to pay the postage, but was fully repaid because the
letter contained one dollar, leaving him seventy-five cents to the good.
He attended school in what is now district number three. There were
in all thirty-two pupils, tuition was paid in one quarter wood and one
quarter board. They rode in a box cart, five boys of them and when
the pin came out they were all dumped into the mud. They called at
a neighbors who attempting to be hospitable gave them sourkrout for
refreshments. He said five cents then looked to them as large as a cart
wheel.
Professor Waldo was called on and said he would not confine re-
searches to the county alone, that such great historical wealth was hid-
den away and constantly being discovered. Parkman, the French, and
the early missionaries could be studied and even elucidated. He had
advocated the preservation of personal pioneer accounts and records.
The difference of 1831 and 1832 he thought showed that dollars un-
protected in those days were safer than cents now.
MIDWINTER MEETING, KALAMAZOO 41
Smith H. Carleton said he was ninety years old and planted the first
shade trees in Kalamazoo. Mark Lee was their teacher and it was no
uncommon thing to have to change teachers five or six times during the
winter, the boys turning them out.
E. M. Crane who was born in Albion attempted to give a short sketch
of himself when someone asked him for his experience as a collector.
He declared himself to be at home on this subject having opened mounds
in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and California. He
had kept records of 536 mounds he had assisted in uncovering. He
scouted the idea of their being used as tombs saying the Indians used
scaffolding or trees on account of the snakes but were taught by the
settlers to use mounds. He found few mounds below Natchez, most of
them lying north. He thought the mounds antedated the Indians per-
haps by a thousand years. In one mound he only found four bones of
the ear. At Laporte he opened twenty-six mounds. He gave a very in-
teresting description of his work displaying much knowledge and judg-
ment. Mr. Burton said E. Lakin Brown who had been mentioned was
an uncle of Mr. Scott who had recently left half a million dollars for a
fountain on Belle Isle.
After music by the orchestra an opportunity was given for the people
to meet President Burton and Mr. Hemans. Thus closed one of the
most successful mid- winter meetings the society has ever experienced.
A resolution of thanks was offered by Mr. Jenks and seconded by Mr.
Bement to be sent to each of the following persons and organizations :
The Commercial Club.
Ladies' Library Club.
Twentieth Century Club.
Daughters American Revolution.
George O. Winslow, president local committee.
The local newspapers for excellent reports.
Very Rev. Dean F. O'Brien, local member State Society.
Officers and teachers, Nazareth Academy.
Mr. George F. Larned, charge of Loan Exhibits.
Haas' Orchestra, Gaynor Club and others for music, speakers and
citizens.
42 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ANNUAL MEETING, SENATE CHAMBER, JUNE 7 AND 8, 1911
Wednesday afternoon, June 7, 1911, the Michigan Pioneer and His-
torical Society opened the thirty-seventh annual meeting in the Senate
Chamber at the Capitol. A good attendance of members and visitors
were appreciative of the program presented for their approval. Twenty
little folks from the Larch street school sang a folk song "Twenty Frog-
gies'' in costume. This was followed by the opening prayer by Rev.
William Putnam of this city.
President C. M. Burton of Detroit gave a short address and said in
part: "The meetings of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society
are distinctly an old people's meeting. It is where the remaining
pioneers gather to discuss the affairs and incidents of the past, and the
younger generations gather to learn of the things gone before at first
hand. Some of the faces are not here this year that we usually see,
quite a number having been called away.
"The past year has been one of good work for the Society as any we
have ever had. We have published our annual volume of early history
and are preparing others. During the past winter we presented to the
legislature our bill for the annual amount for our sustenance, with
$2,000 added for our growth and expansion in the work. Most of you
know the result. The legislators appreciated the great work we are
doing and the bill passed easily and unanimously both houses. When
it came up to the Governor it was vetoed. The most of us believe the
Governor acted upon the impulse of the moment, as it was thought it
might well be taken care of by the State Library. However, no provision
was made for such a course and this Society was left without any sup-
port. There is one thing very sure, that we will never lie down. The
Society must be kept alive and the members must put their shoulders
to the wheel.
"This Society was founded by a Governor and is one of the departments
in the development of the State not to; be overlooked. These semi-annual
meetings bring together the pioneers, help to preserve the official records
that otherwise might be lost. There is no State in the United States
with so much historical matter in store as Michigan. We have issued
thirty-nine volumes of this history and we have originated a custom that
no other State in the Union has done in the gift of its books to the
public schools. Wisconsin has $70,000 annually to keep up its historical
work. We have the grandest Society in the United States and have done
our work on only $4,000 a year. I am sure that if in two years from
ANNUAL MEETING, 1911 43
now, the present Governor is still governor, he will allow us a greater
amount than ever before."
The report of the Secretary H. K. Pattengill in his absence was read
by Mr. C. E. Bement There have been thirty-eight new members added,
and eleven members called away by death, among them, Mrs. Mary E.
Warner, who died June 5, 1911.
Mrs. M. B. Ferrey read the report of the Treasurer, B. F. Davis, in
•his absence. "Stars of a Summer Night" was the selection given by the
Boys' Glee Club of the High School, under the direction of Prof. J. W.
Stevens.
Mr. S. L. Smith of T)etroit was called upon by the president and gave
a short talk. He spoke briefly of the changes in conditions of life since
pioneer days and of the energetic, pushing, ambitious businesslike
Americans, far ahead of nations who already have acquired what they
want. At the request of the Society he will prepare a paper for the
next meeting. Theodore Potter, a former member of the Society and
well-known by everyone was the subject of a tribute given by his close
and admiring friend Rev. William Putnam.
The memoir of Judge John O. Patterson of Marshall compiled by Miss
M. Agnes Burton of Detroit was read by Mrs. Nathan Judson. James
Morse of the Michigan Agricultural College delightfully entertained the
audience with two selections: "Angus McDonald" Roeckel and as an
encore sang, "My Little Gypsy Sweetheart" from the "Fortune Teller."
Miss Louise Freyhofer of East Lansing was the accompanist.
"Aunt Emily Ward" whose picture shown in the frontispiece of the
program was the subject of a paper by Mrs. George N. Jones of Marine
City. Mr. Burton also spoke briefly in regard to Aunt Emily's "boys."
He referred to the Mesdames Turner, Longyear, Turner and Webber, the
four sisters who were in attendance at the meeting. Mr. Burton in
announcing the reception said of Mrs. Elizabeth Horner Burling, "When
in 1832 Stevens T. Mason was Secretary of State, by order of his office
he was governor ex-officio of Michigan until the appointment of Gover-
nor Porter, and again in 1834 he was the) Democratic governor ex-officio.
The Whigs were in power in the national government and as Michigan
was not yet a state, they removed Mason and appointed John Scott
Horner in 1835. He remained only a short time here. His daughter,
Mrs. Elizabeth Horner Burling, will be the guest of honor at the recep-
tion." " 'Tis Better to be Laughing than be Sighing" from "Lucrezia
Borgia" was sung by Miss Margaret Gilray of Sault Ste. Marie. She
responded to an encore with "Loch Lomond" which closed the afternoon's
program.
The evening's meeting was opened by two songs by the choir of In-
dustrial School for Boys. This was followed by the memoir of P. Dean
44 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Warner of Farmington, read by his son, Ex-Governor Fred M. Warner.
"Michigan's Loss" was the subject of the address given by Joseph
Greusel, Detroit. He said in part: "In material facts Michigan has
never lost anything through the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society.
We have saved for them. All civilized nations have made progress by
such societies. Progressive nations have always prepetuated this sort of
societies. Among the countries of Europe and the ruling powers of the
earth, in every one are striking evidences of wealth and intellectual prog-*
ress. In Berlin one finds the Museum of Hohenzollern wherein are
personal relics and mementoes of the rulers of the nation, from their
birth until their death. Here are placed beautiful robes worn on special
occasions through long and historic lives. This museum is devoted to
personal mementoes, also manuscripts book and maps. Another museum
deals with specific countries; there you may see relics of the American
Indians, second only to the Smithsonian Institute in America, relics
from India, China, even the excavations of Troy, from South America
and every country on the globe, are represented and show their history
and progress. Large sums are expended annually to keep up these.
Go to Italy, Borne, to Pagan and Christian countries alike, not for
paintings and art, but for history and progress shown by the collections
made by the people.
In Paris go see what the French government has done for such a
society as this, which is given so little encouragement and not well sus-
tained. France has a large staff of people perfecting the French lan-
guage for the purpose of a dictionary. They have been working for
years and it will take many more to complete the undertaking. Then
again France expends millions of dollars for prizes to writers and in-
ventors. Theodore Roosevelt was awarded f 10,000 a short time ago. It
all tends to the improvement of mankind.
Again in England, go to London; there the great British Museum
was started by an individual, a collector of maps, books and manu-
scripts; a man whose hobby it was to gather £50,000 worth in his life
time. He sold it to the British government for £20,000 and they have
been spending millions since to extend the wonderful work.
Now look toward the less enlightened countries, how they encourage
these things. Mexico, with its national museum of relics dated before the
time of Cortez. The Aztec Indians, on canvass, illustrated objects and
events which happened in their time and these are preserved under the
encouragement of the government.
In the United States there are many states that recognize this work.
In Washington, D. C., we find the Smithsonian Institute which was
started by an Englishman, Smithson. They do there something that we
are trying on a small scale to do here. For years this Society has been
ANNUAL MEETING, 1911 45
making little donations to the educational world, worthy of admira-
tion of any scholar and any one can learn many things from that little
bit of a room on the fourth floor of the capitol, heaped up high with
historic articles.
In Newburg, Orange county, New York, is a museum in which there
are things that recall the time of Washington and the Revolutionary
war, bonnets, Hessian boots and dainty satin slippers worn by the ladies
who danced at the Colonial balls. The state of New York is proud to
have such things preserved. Our state perhaps miss some things, but
we are doing the best we can. We merely want encouragement.
A short time ago I read in a newspaper of Bancroft the historian, sell-
ing to the state of California, Spanish manuscripts referring to the early
history of that state for $200,000. California has not the history or
romance of Michigan, yet they paid $200,000 for that old manuscript
toi preserve it for the state's benefit.
We have a man here that is expending large amounts of money and
time for the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society. What does he get
out of it? Pleasure to contribute to the people of this state. What is the
value of the thirty-seven volumes of this Society's Collection which tell
of living Michigan history, of the rich past, the romance, the hardships,
the struggles, the clearing of the land and the making of the log homes?
Far beyond the $200,000 that the state of California paid for its manu-
scripts. We should remember there is a duty we must perform for our
children and raise the intellectual standards. But the Society gets little
encouragement. It has the sympathy of the people but we need more.
It was started by individuals interested in the public and its work is
for them for all time.
During Pontiac's conspiracy when he with his Indian tribes besieged
Detroit, a man in the town started a diary, and every day wrote of the
doings, of course all in the French language. This manuscript came
into the possession of Lewis Cass. He gave it to Mr. Parkman who
was writing a history of Pontiac, and afterwards was lost track of. A
little over a year ago Mr. C. M. Burton of Detroit received a telephone
call from a man about to dispose of some half dozen barrels of old
papers as rubbish, and wanted to know if he would like to look them
over. Mr. Burton took them as a boy trades jackknives, "out of sight
and unseen." He went through the papers and there found among those
old manuscripts that French Diary. He is now looking for the writer.
The owner of the book must have been a French) scholar for the French
men who could read or write in Detroit at that time were few and
far between. Mr. Burton employed a French Catholic girl to translate
the documents, and one day she asked him if he knew the manuscript
was written by a priest, and proved her assertion by a cross placed at
46 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the top of each page. This caused Mr. Burton to commence a search
among the church and clercial papers of old Ste. Anne's which has the
oldest continuous records of any church in the North West. One day
in old Ste. Anne's church I came upon Mr. Burton and a photographer
with the pages of an old register opened after the year 1763, photograph-
ing those names to compare with his manuscript and to run down the
author of it.
Contributions have been many, to the Pioneer and Historical Society,
to the museum and to the thirty-seven volumes published. Why should
the work not be encouraged, this work worthy of civilized people? We
nave not lost one thing but we have gained a great deal."
"Early transportation, East and West," was the subject of an address
presented by Lew Allen Chase, Fellow in American History, University
of Michigan.
The singing of the "Yellow and the Blue" and the encore "Michigan
my Michigan" by the Industrial School Boy's Ohoir was especially fitting
for the occasion. This was followed by a short address by President
H. B. Hutchins of the University of Michigan. He said in part :
"The University of Michigan has had a considerable part in the his-
tory of Michigan and I certainly have a great interest in this Society, and
in regard to 'Michigan's Loss' I am in accord with Mr. Greusel. This
is the duty of this state and the public should lend their willing support.
I shall go back to Ann Arbor enthusiastic, and with renewed interest
in the historical department. The University belongs to the state, not
to the faculty or regents. Every one has a share and interest in it for
it has done much for the cause of education. It certainly is worth all
that it has cost the state. The high school system has been developed
and teachers sent out from the University, which has also had super-
visory control over the secondary institutes of the state, and I know
and say it is certainly worth all it has cost the people.
I wonder if we appreciate that there are ten thousand graduates of
the University in Michigan doing things worth while. There are students
from every state in the Union at the University attracted here by educa-
tional standards. The life of the University is due to benefactions re-
ceived from the Government, aiding it in making it one of the leading
institutions of its kind in the United States, and now standing third
in attendance. It is also at the head of all state universities in educa-
tional local school work, the idea coming from the ordinance of 1789.
The system was completed and first embodied in the state constitution
in 1810. The people first inaugurated such a system and it was sup-
ported by the people. We of the present day surrounded by such bene-
factions, little realize what it meant to launch such a system. It was
done by such men as the father of Gov. Warner of whom the latter
ANNUAL MEETING, 1911 47
read this evening, and to whom such opportunities were not afforded.
Other universities sprang up in other states patterned after Michigan.
We have students at Ann Arbor from every state. In only seventy-five
years how is it that it has been built up, and how is it so much has
been accomplished in so short a time.
There are several reasons in my mind; first, the success of the Uni-
versity of Michigan is due to the original plan. The founders did not
contemplate merely a college or a university, but a university and a
school system complete. The territorial act of 1817 planned a complete
school system. At the present day we have not as yet filled out that
system in all its completion. Michigan has not been hampered by tradi-
tion as are colleges in the east, but has been developed on a broad and
most comprehensive plan. Secondly, the College was fortunate in its
first president, and in all its presidents down to and including my pre-
decessor. Thirdly, Michigan people have a passion for education ; they
will willingly vote money for education. Michigan has always impressed
foreigners. There are 50,000 students in Michigan being educated at
the expense of the public. This is covered by the large tax. If we are
to do the work the people must come forward with their liberal sup-
port, votes and private donations. We have not only a state university
but a national university. One of the things state universities strive
for is to get non-resident students. It is an education to come in con-
tact with students from other states. We have 350 from Ohio, 500
from New York, 300 from Indiana, 300 from Illinois, and so on. We
have alumni all over, the largest number in Michigan, of course. These
men are doing things worth while, loyal work for the University and
state, and looking out for the prosperity of the University. We are
attempting alumni organizations in nearly every county in the state of
Michigan, about 53 when completed. These will act as an advisory board
to the Board of Regents to assist in the governing of the University. We
can do better, and we are doing it."
I$ev. W. H. Thompson, assistant pastor of the First Baptist church,
sang two selections, following which a reception was held to President
H. B. Hutchins, Mrs. Elizabeth Burling of Ripon, Wis., Ex-Governor
Warner and the alumni of the University of Michigan. Music was fur-
nished by the orchestra from the School for the Blind, and punch and
wafers were served.
Thursday morning June 8th was taken up with the board meeting.
At two o'clock in the afternoon the Girls' Chorus of the 8th grades
of the public schools opened the program by singing "Ebb and Flow"
Oliver King. Principal N. B. Sloan of the Lansing High School, read
a paper on "Citizenship and the Public Schools." Miss Anna Louise
Gillies of Flint pleased the audience by singing "Down in the Forest"
48 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Rowland and the "Birth of Dawn" Leoni, Mrs. Jason Hammond ac-
companist.
Mrs. A. B. Avery of Pontiac read a paper on the "Bevolutionary
Soldier of Oakland County." Mrs. James H. Campbell, of Grand
Bapids very pleasingly presented Mrs. B. Bussell and Mrs. C. C. Demaray
of Lake Odessa, Mich., the twin daughters of a genuine Bevolutionary
soldier.1 Mrs. Bussell spoke briefly for herself and sister saying that
they were born in 1840, when their father was past seventy-eight
years old. Each of the ladies were mothers -of fourteen children.
The memoir of Bev. B. C. Crawford of Grand Bapids was written and
read by Dr. H. C. Bartholemew of Lansing. This was followed by two
selections "Anne Laurie" and "My Gentle Child" Del Riego sung by
Miss Anna Louise Gillies.
The report of the nominating committee, Judge Cahill, Mrs. Mary
C. Spencer and Dr. H. S. Bartholemew, was given as follows: Presi-
dent, C. M. Burton, Detroit; vice president, Hon. Fred M. Warner,
Farmington; secretary, H. B. Pattengill, Lansing; treasurer, B. F. Davis,
Lansing; board of trustees, Lawton T. Hemans, Mason, A. C. Carton,
East Tawas, Mrs. Nathan Judson, Lansing; board of historians, C. E.
Bement, Lansing, Junius E. Real, Ann Arbor, Bev. Frank O'Brien,
Kalamazpo, W. L. Jenks, Port Huron, Joseph Greusel, Detroit. This
was passed upon and accepted. Mr. Jenks presented the following reso-
lutions :
Besolved, That the Trustees be requested to take such action as they
shall deem best to distribute the publications of this Society now ac-
cumulating, in such manner as shall make them useful to the public ;
Besolved, That the Trustees of this Society are hereby authorized and
empowered to cause the property of the Society to be transferred to the
State of Michigan whenever such action shall, in their judgment, be
for the best interests of the Society. Both resolutions were unanimously
adopted.
Judge Cahill proposed the following resolution which was \also
adopted :
October 24, 1910, on their seventieth birthday four of the Sophie de Marsac
Daughters of Grand Rapids and one member of the State D. A. R.'s arrived to
celebrate the day. Mrs. Demaray and Mrs. Russell have each fourteen children
and with their families it swelled the number of guests to thirty-six. They were
the recipients of many beautiful gifts. A foot race resulted in the defeat of Mrs.
Demaray.
Their father, John Peter Frank, joined the Colonial regiment at Philadelphia
m 1776, serving in Washington's army. At the close of the war he moved to
Canada where he married his second wife and where the twins were born. At
the age of ninety-five he was engaged in shingling his son's house and died after
a weeks sickness from heat prostration.
Mrs. Pemaray moved to Michigan about 1860, and made her home in Bonanza,
which was the name of the village a mile away from Lake Odessa, which has
taken nearly all its population. They are among the youngest of the genuine
D. A. R. s and the only twins on the Revolutionary pension roll.
ANNUAL MEETING, 1911 49
Resolved, That the cordial thanks of this Society are due and are
hereby extended to the Board of State Auditors for their kind and
hearty cooperation in making it possible to continue and extend the
valuable work of the Society during the next two years.
Five minute talks were given by Wesley Emery, J. J. Bush and Wil-
liam Foster all of Lansing. Mr. Emery told briefly of his twenty-four
years teaching in the public schools of Michigan and read a poem writ-
ten by himself on his 80th birthday which he celebrated two years ago.
Mr. Bush declared Michigan to be the champion state on account of
two living daughters of the Revolutionary war. He told of his grand-
father's enlisting for service in that war when only fifteen years old. He
spoke of his grandmother's family living in the big stone house in which
Washington made his headquarters during the winter at Valley Forge,
and of the minute descriptions of Washington and Knox that he had
heard from his grandmother. The Hessian soldiers filled that lady with
perfect hatred and contempt by their lawless ways and personalities. In
conclusion Mr. Bush said, "This June day reminds me of a typical
pioneer day, when the whole landscape was covered with the great silent
forests and this beautiful land was God's own park. I go back in memory
eighty-five years. I recall scenes of my childhood and remember well
the log cabins built in a clearing in the great forests many miles from
any neighbors. They did their work well who lived in that age which
gave strength and courage. We hope the rising generations may meet
the problems of their day as well as we met ours."
William Foster recited some of his interesting pioneer experiences.
Thursday evening "Mother Goose's Children," little living pictures
were given and sung by the children from the Larch street school. This
was followed by an excellent address by Mrs. Caroline P. Campbell
of Grand Rapids of The Great Seal of Michigan, 1835 and Its Relation
to the State Flag. Miss Anna L. Gillies of Flint sang two selections
"Jean," Spross and "Robin Adair," Carrie Jacobs Bond.
Mrs. Elizabeth Horner Burling of Ripon, Wis., daughter of Michigan's
last Territorial Governor, John Scott Horner, was introduced by the
president and read a brief sketch of the life of her father. Mrs. Burling
was proposed as an honorary member of the Society. Miss Gillies sang
two selections "A perfect Day" Bond and "Love in May" Arditi.
Mr. Claude Buchanan of Grand Rapids read the memoir of his aunt,
Mrs. Thomas D. Gilbert. Miss Margaret Gilray of Sault Ste. Marie
sang "Spring's Awakening," Buck, with "You'd Better Ask Me," Lohr,
as an encore.
Letters of regret, gifts and membership were read by Mrs. M. B. Ferrey,
following which Miss Gillies closed the meeting by singing "Yesterday
and To-day," Spross.
7
50 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The absence of M. H. Bumphrey of Three Rivers was very much re-
gretted but his paper "Early Kalamazoo and St. Joseph County'7 has
been filed.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY, HENRY R, PATTENGILL.
The publications of this Society now number thirty-nine volumes in-
cluding two indexes of fifteen books each from volumes one to thirty
inclusive. The free distributions of these books to rural schools having
twenty-five books in their own libraries resulted in the necessity for
many reprints and more judicious circulation. A careful examination
of the early volumes showed mistakes which should be corrected and
additional knowledge of historical facts which had come to light that
should be added.
To the attainment of this end an editor was employed. H. S. Bartholo-
mew began this work in July, 1907, and closed his labors in September
at the opening of the University. Six volumes were revised in the
two months and new indexes made or old ones corrected. Volumes
thirteen and fourteen were gone over by Mr. Burton and daughter;
volumes fifteen and sixteen by Hon. Joseph Greusel. These are more
extended in notes and citations showing much research which added
greatly to their value. Miss Burton has continued the good work begun
by Mr. Greusel in volumes eighteen and nineteen and these are in the
hands of the printer while twenty is being edited. All of these,, with the
one exception, have had new indexes made by Mrs. M. B. Ferrey who has
become exceedingly expert in this work. Volume thirty-seven of the
regular series is full of historical matter. Letters on the Early Fur
Trade by Schoolcraft's brother-in-law, William Johnston, and the trials
of the fur merchant as shown in the Narrative of Perault give pitiful
pioneer conditions. Important lessons have been shown in the Bond
and Schoolcraft papers, showing how history repeats itself as demon-
strated by these records. The lettering and color of the covers have
been changed thus making our publication more attractive than the
usual official reports.
An excellent mid-winter meeting was held at Kalamazoo which not
only resulted in the largest attendance and widest interest shown at
these semi-annual gatherings, but in the organization of a county His-
torical Society to be auxiliary to the State Society and doing the same
work tor the county that we are trying to do for the State. The recep-
tion tendered by Nazareth Academy at the suggestion of Father Frank
A. O'Brien, the concert given under the auspices of the Daughters of the
REPORT OP SECRETARY, 1911 51
Americal Revolution, the tea served by the Women's clubs, the great as-
sistance of the Commercial Club and the hearty cooperation of all the
citizens generally made it a memorable event.
We learn to do things by doing and were just beginning to extend
the work to such an extent that the legislature granted us an additional
amount of f 2,000 annually by a unanimous vote. In the closing hours
of the legislative session Governor Osborn sent in a message vetoing the
entire appropriation for the maintenance of the Society with the sug-
gestion that the work could be done by the State Library. No appropria-
tion, however, had been made for this additional burden and none could
be at so late an hour. This action of the Governor would therefore have
suspended the entire wrork of the society for two years had not the
State Board of Auditors patriotically come to the rescue, and provided
for the housing, caring for the pioneer collections and carrying to com-
pletion the historical volumes and work already underway.
The society and the Auditors are in receipt of letters from all portions
of the State commending their action in the matter, and we here wish
to express our appreciation to the Board of Auditors for planning to
maintain our work, and to the people everywhere for kind and hearty
words of commendation and praise.
We cannot refrain from calling attention to the debt the State owes
to our president, Mr. C. M. Burton of Detroit. No one in America has
a richer collection of manuscripts, maps, books and data bearing on
the early history of the North West Territory. Mr. Burton has spent
a large amount collecting and caring for this historic matter. He has
for a third of a century made the study and collection of Michigan his-
tory a delightful avocation. He has spent time, money and thought on
the matter. All this rich treasure is ours to study and his time and
knowledge are ours for guidance, help and inspiration. It is certainly
to be hoped that no untoward action may rob the Michigan Pioneer and
Historical Society of Mr. Burton's enthusiastic support. It cannot be
had for money.
Our museum is crowded to the limit and is now one of the most at-
tractive features of the Capitol, and receives continually increasing
throngs of interested visitors. Some day the State will provide larger
quarters for the display. Let any who have rare old curios connected
with Michigan pioneers plan to leave the same to the Pioneer Museum.
Probably no one person connected with this society works harder,
longer, more loyally or more efficiently for the furtherance of the in-
terests of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society than does the
indomitable, tactful, persevering and able clerk of the society, Mrs. M.
B. Ferrey, who does the work of at least three persons as such things go
in other state societies. The Secretary's hardest lot is keeping her from
52 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
working herself to a nervous wreck. Largely through her visits, ad-
dresses and efforts the Women's clubs of Michigan and the county
historical societies are working more and more in unison with the state
society. Public sentiment is daily growing more and more favorable to
us. School-teachers are slowly awakening to the value of the publications
as assistance in school work. Really in spite of our temporary setback we
are feeling very much encouraged. Come and join us.
The report of the secretary, of the finances is as follows :
Balance June 1st, 1910 $270 66
Received from memberships 32 00
Received from State Treasurer 3,827 60
Total $4,130 26
Disbursements as itemized in Mr. Davis' report 2,302 48
Balance on hand June 1, 1911 $1,827 48
There is due on contract with B. F. Stevens and Brown for
translating and copying manuscript for completion of the
Margry Papers for the Michigan Pioneer and Historical
Society books $1,000 00
Salaries 233 20
Board meeting and expenses of annual meeting, estimated . . 100 00
$1,333 20
NEW MEMBERS 1910-1911
1543. Mrs. Angie Elizabeth Haze Hungerf ord, Lansing ;
1544. Robert W. Brown, Grand Rapids;
1545. Mrs. Nora L. Loveland, Mt. Pleasant;
1546. Rev. William James Fitzpatrick, Kalamazoo;
1547. Mrs. Frances Eugenie Little Deal, Kalamazoo;
1548. Lucius H. Stoddard, Kalamazoo ;
1549. George C. Winslow, Kalamazoo;
1550. Mrs. Cornelia Daniels Cummings, Galesburg;
1551. Frederic W. Gress, Albion ;
1552. Mrs. A. B. Avery, Pontiac;
1553. Gustav A. Schultz, Albion;
1554. Joseph Greusel, Detroit;
1555. Mrs. Ethel Rowan Fasquelle, Petoskey;
1556. Robert E. Walter, Traverse City.
REPORT OF SECRETARY, 1911 53
DEATHS
Henry E. Downer, Detroit, July 1, 1910;
Palmer H. Taylor, Ionia, February 3, 1911 ;
H. H. Aplin, Bay City, July 23, 1910;
Mrs. A. M. Hayes, Hastings, 1911;
Mrs. T. D. Gilbert, Grand Rapids, November 7, 1910 ;
Theodore E. Potter, Lansing, October 26, 1910 ;
John C. Patterson, Marshall, May 24, 1910;
Rev. R. O. Crawford, Grand Rapids, November 18, 1910;
John A. Dewey, Owosso, 1911;
Mrs. Mary E. Warner, Lansing, June 5, 1911.
GIFTS AND LOANS, 1911
Loaned by Mrs. Judson, pewter caster with seven bottles.
Poke bonnet presented by Miss Brown, Lansing.
Picture of historic tree, Traverse City, presented by Woman's Club of Traverse
City.
White sauce dish, presented by Mrs. Talcott.
Candle mould brought to Michigan, 1858, hooks and board to tie candles on,
curly maple bedstead, small wooden tub, presented by Mrs. Bradish, Adrian.
Horse's bit, presented by Mr. R. W. Cooper, Lansing.
Pink china snuff box, presented by Mrs. S. E. Cooper, Lansing.
Two McClellan tickets, sixth ward, Detroit, presented by Mr. Mathews.
Black leather trunk brought from Ireland, 1802; wicker basket; large black tray;
twelve bound books, presented by Mr. Talbot.
Loaned by Mrs. F. D. Hadrick, photograph of Ontonagon squaw, 100 years old.
Picture of mother of Senator J. B. Harsh, Creston, Iowa, great grandmother
Nancy Harsh Babbitt, born June 14, 1810.
Reports, Library Congress.
Historical collection, Maine Historical Society.
Confederate $2 bill, 1862, presented by C. P. Burr, Flint.
Bugle, presented by Joseph Edinger.
Two admission tickets to capitol when ex-President Roosevelt visited here, pre-
sented by Fred Hadrick.
Fan, over eighty years old, loaned by Mrs. S. E. Cooper, Lansing.
Presented from military museum, large collection of ore, minerals, etc.
Book mark used in State library, presented by Mrs. Ronan.
Personal card written by Mrs. Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, presented by Mrs. Alex-
ander Custard, Mendon.
Brown jug, made in 1849, in Leslie, presented by Mrs. P. A. Halm.
Yorktown Railroad orders, 1881, presented by Mrs. Bogardus.
Loaned by Mrs. Mabel Scott, wooden box, hand made, 100 years old; three
books, very early; printed picture on cloth; Chinese sacred lily; picture of her
grandparents; four book marks, hand made.
54 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Fluid lamp, presented by Misses Julia and Susan Wood of Benona Heights.
Brass candle stick nearly 200 years old, presented by Miss Julia Wood.
Almanacs, 1870, 1881, 1869, 1865; six magazines, 1861, 1856, 1861, 1859, 1854, pre-
sented by D. L. Garver, Hart, Mich.
Straw horse collar, presented by Mr. Burns of St. Louis.
Mrs. Kate Miller Wilson of Cleveland, Ohio, articles from the house of Mr.
and Mrs. Charles L. Miller, formerly of Colon, St. Joseph county, Mich.: Pin-
cushion made about the year 1835; black stock style of 1870; gentleman's stock,
style 1830; manual containing rules of legislature, 1835; manual containing con-
stitution 1868, belonged to Zach. Chandler; Life and Character of Henry Winters
Davis, oration delivered February 22, 1866; manual of legislature of Michigan,
1840; memorial address Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln, delivered February
14, 1866; almanac, 1849; "Wide Awake Vocalist," used in campaign of 1860;
patriotic song book, songs sung during Civil War; memorial address on Wm. Pitt
Fessenden, 1869; slide for necktie, made of beef bone, by Union soldier in the
Libby prison during the Civil War; ruler, not less than sixty years old; letter
seal; sand box, with sand, the old time blotter; Chicago Tribune of July 25, 1863,
and April 24, 1863; Daily Morning Chronicle, April 16, 1866, May 12, 1866, May
13, 1866; New York Tribune, May 7, 1864, May 9, 1864; Christian Banner, May
31, 1862; Richmond Whig, April 26, 1865; framed letter head, used during the
presidential campaign, 1840, Harrison and Tyler; framed notice "To passengers
going west and north on railroad line," June, 1845; wild cat money; badge worn
in Chicago during republican convention when Lincoln was nominated; letter
written 1870 from Sioux City; autograph letter of Zachariah Chandler; letter
written 1861 describing scenes in Washington, D. C. ; letter describing scenes
and incidents attending the surrender of Lee's army.
Clippings, presented by A. S. White of Grand Rapids, and Fred Hadrick, Lan-
sing.
Presented by Mrs. Adeline Drake: Very old teapot; a doll, ninety-four years
old; handkerchief, sixty years old; lunch sack, sixty-five years old; work pocket,
sixty-five years old; needlework, eighty years old; knife and fork, eighty years old.
Presented by C. E. Walter, East Lansing, sixteen pieces broken bits of pottery
from shell mounds, Alabama.
Presented by Prof. Allen, organic limestone filled with fossil corals.
Presented by Mrs. C. A. Gower, box of material for making wax wreaths ; framed
white wax cross; ink well; mother's wedding slippers; embroidered veil; small
bonnet; yarn and homespun linen pieces; knit suspenders; shawl.
Original drawing of Capitol at Lansing, made by the architect, Col. E. E. Meyers,
of Detroit, presented by Hon. David E. Heineman, Detroit, Mich.
LIST OF EXCHANGES RECEIVED JUNE, 1909-1911
1. Pacific Coast History Publications 2 vols.
2. Library of Congress, Reports (2).
3. Maine Historical Society, Vols. XIII, XIV, XV, XVI.
4. Connecticut Historical Society, Vol. XIII.
5. Ohio Historical Society, Quarterly Publications of Vol. VI, 1, 2, 3.
6. Illinois Historical Society, Vols. IV, V, VI, VII.
7. Iowa Historical Society, Biographical sketch of Thomas Cox.
8. South Dakota Historical Society, Vol. V.
9. Kansas Historical Society, Vols. X, XL
10. Annual report U. S. National Museum of Magazine Subject Index (1909)
Reports from Libraries; newspapers, etc.
REPORT OF TREASURER, 1911 55
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE MICHIGAN
PIONEER AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY FROM JUNE 1, 1910,
TO THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS MAY 31, 1911.
Cash on hand June 1, 1910 $264 36
Received for membership 32 00
Received from State 3,827 60
$4,123 96
Paid Will Carleton, lecture for Pioneer meeting $54 00
Paid Sullivan & Co., punch for reception, annual meeting. . 12 00
Paid Dr. J. J. Marker for music, annual meeting. . . 12 45
Paid B. F. Stevens & Brown for copying and translating
nine Margry papers 500 00
Paid M. Agnes Burton, editing Margry papers 36 00
Paid Florence S. Babbitt on contract 530 00
Paid D. A. Wright for dictionary 10 80
Paid for expense of meeting at Kalamazoo 60 09
Paid Robt. Smith Printing Co., binding books 27 00
Paid miscellaneous expenses 39 88
Paid Salary, Mrs. Ferrey 1,000 00
Paid expense board meetings 14 06
$2,296 28
Balance on hand June 1, 1911 $1,827 68
B. F. DAVIS,
Treasurer.
56 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
METHODS OF SECURING INFORMATION FOR LOCAL HISTORY
BY DWIGHT GOSS1
The chief mine of information for writing local history is the files of
old newspapers. These are not only original sources of information, but
of inspiration. They echo town talk. It is not only the news they give,
but the news they omit, which is important to the careful student. For
example, the local newspapers of Michigan from 1840 to 1860 are filled
with national political news, letters from Washington, abstracts of
speeches made in Congress, stories of public men and items of national
politics. State politics and local matters are conspicuous for their ab-
sence, all of which goes to show that in those days Michigan people
thought and talked about national affairs much more than they do now.
They debated State rights and the slave power, and at all times and
on all occasions discussed national political parties and policies. They
carried national politics into social and business affairs. They were
reluctant to associate and affiliate with their political opponents. We
know this not only from our elders and tradition, but we see it in old
newspapers which give such importance to men in public life and to
national politics. The Civil War may have come to this State as a
sudden outbreak and a surprise, but its volcanic fires had been burning
for a generation in every hamlet and at almost every hearthstone of
Michigan.
The observing student can see much in the advertisements of old
newspapers. He will see what were the articles of trade, what people
ate, drank and wore, what were their medicines and toilet articles.
From old time-tables and travelers' guides he will see the lines of com-
munication and the routes of travel ; he can learn of streams then navig-
able, now unused; he can see how people amused themselves; from busi-
ness cards and advertisements he will learn much about schools and
churches, and lawyers and doctors, and preachers and teachers, and the
business and progress of the community. Take a newspaper of to-day
and compare it with those of 1896, 1886, 1876, 1866, 1856, 1846, and each
will, in its news, its advertisements, its editorials, its market reports,
its headlines and its general makeup, give a vivid picture of its date of
issue.
Other sources of original information for local history are public
records and court records. The city records and proceedings of the
Common Councils are full of interest to the antiquarian.
'Read by Mrs. Goss at the midwinter meeting of January, 1907. Mr. Goss died
in 1909. See sketch, Mich. Pion. Hist. Colls., Vol. XXXVII, p. 693.
METHODS OF SECURING LOCAL HISTORY 57
The county records and Circuit Court records of every county are
full of interest to the careful student. The court-houses always have
much history within their walls. The probate court records furnish much
from which history can be gleaned. Pioneers and citizens die and their
affairs pass through either the courts or probate court and become
matters of record. Dates and details of deaths and marriages and many
other events can often be obtained or verified at the court-house.
Published reports' are of great value to a local historian. Annual
reports from the boards of schools, police, fire commissioners, health,
public works, controllers and superintendents of the poor, in fact all
public reports can be read with profit.
City directories, usually found on the shelves of the local public
libraries, give much good and accurate information, and are complete
annual directories. A directory gives not only names but residences
and business places. A prominent old citizen may say that he com-
menced business or quit business on a certain corner in a certain year,
while the city directory for that year or the following year may not
agree with his statement. Generally the directory is right and the
memory of the old citizen wrong.
Biographical sketches found in local histories, publications, news-
papers and trade papers are valuable sources of information for writ-
ing local history. History can be written from biography. Local his-
tory, as well as general history, is made up from the lives of men.
An interesting source of information for local history is the letters
and keepsakes which nearly every old family has of its members. There
are account books, invitations, journals, pictures, programmes, news-
paper clippings, and even pieces of furniture in many households which
tell much of local history. Often they are too sacred for profane eyes,
but if the historian and antiquarian has enthusiasm and tact he can
generally unlock the secret drawers of family history and find much
of public interest. Personally, I have had many pleasant hours and
obtained much historic information in looking over family records and
keepsakes in Grand Rapids.
One great source of information and inspiration for local history is
living men and women who lived in the community long ago, but as
every lawyer and careful historian knows the human memory is not al-
ways trustworthy. It may give good general impressions, but is often
false in details. Again, human narration is generally more or less
colored by prejudice, self-interest and conceit. Nevertheless, reminis-
cences can be used to good advantage by the student of local affairs.
However, statements of that character should always be verified,, if possi-
ble. There is more than one old settler in every town whose narration
of past events is a source of inspiration in giving color to local his-
58 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
tory, but whose memory of dates and details is not to be depended on.
Family traditions are seldom reliable except to give color. The grand-
father who tells what his grandfather said to him when he was a child
generally has more imagination than truth in the story; yet the story
may give a picture of great historic value, if discrimination is exercised
in its use.
A diary is an excellent source of original information for local his-
tory. The citizen who keeps a diary or journal shold be known to every
student of local history. Of course diaries are personal in their char-
acter, but their very personality makes history, and gives views of life
that cannot be obtained from books, and are not preserved in tradition.
I have related what I have found of chief value in writing local his-
tory. Allow me to make some suggestions for the benefit of the persons
who will write local history in the future : let every copy of every news-
paper, trade paper, magazine and publication in the nature of a news-
paper,1 trade paper or magazine hereafter published be carefully kept;
let every such publication of the past be collected and preserved. They
make history.
Let every public report from any public body, public board, public
officer be preserved; nay, more, let every report from any church, so-
ciety, fraternity or organization of the community be preserved. It is
."history. Public and official reports and proceedings of official bodies may
not be as interesting reading as newspaper reports, but they are more
accurate. If the future historian has both before him he can write good
history.
Let programmes and menus of banquets, balls, suppers, dinners, enter-
tainments and other social functions be filed. They will tell our grand-
children how we entertain and are entertained, what we eat and drink,
Jiow we behave in public and among our friends. Local historical so-
sieties or libraries could cooperate with printing establishments and
secure copies of such announcements and have them filed and indexed.
This is an age when illustration is demanded and is easily obtained.
Photographers, amateur, trade and professional, are found everywhere.
Every event of public interest — almost every event of private interest —
has its picture taken. All such pictures should be preserved for their
historic value. Every public library should have a picture department of
local people and events. In a few years it would have great importance.
I would suggest that such, a department be started in historical socie-
ties and public libraries and all local photographers be invited to do-
'In Kansas the editors each send a copy of their papers to the Historical So-
ciety and this action makes them members. These files are preserved. A few
years ago when a room belonging to this society was taken by another department
a complete file of the Niles Mirror was sold by the state for paper rags. In 1905
a complete set of this paper was offered the society for the reduced price of $500.
METHODS OF SECURING LOCAL HISTORY 59
nate copies of their pictures of local events, landscapes and groups of
people.
There are many collectors in every community whose names and col-
lections should be indexed for reference. Every historical society should
know the autograph fiends of its neighborhood, the collectors of old
furniture, the numismatists, the bibliomaniacs ; in short, all the faddists,
cranks and collectors of the community. They are all akin to the stu-
dents of history and their collections have historic value.
It is the commonplace things of today which make history and romance
for the future. The appearance of our streets, the views of our towns,
the pictures of our residences, ourselves, our friends, our everyday life
are to us so common that they have no value, but in the years to come
they will have worth beyond price. What would we not give for a true
picture of a Greek theater, a Roman triumph, a Jewish home, an ancient
banquet, a Puritan wedding, Grand Rapids or Detroit at the advent of
the first white man, the main street of the town Fourth of July with
its first procession? What would we not give for a detailed account
of a week from the life of Socrates, Caesar, Cromwell, Washington or
an early settler of Michigan? In the centuries that have passed, his-
tory was a record of public men and political events; history is now
a record of all people and all forces that work for civilization, progress
and righteousness.
The records of the Michigan Pioneer Society are full of local history.
There are articles by local writers from nearly every county of the
State. In the collections can be found plenty of material for teaching
history and inspiring students. It is not necessary to go to great
libraries to write history; it is not necessary to go abroad for inspira-
tion. It is not necessary to become a student in an advanced class
of a great university if only to learn how to use original sources and
obtain a literary style; it is not absolutely necessary to sit at the feet
of the great masters; all these are aids, but if you wish to study and
write about local affairs, paraphrase the good old motto of Michigan,
"If you would write good local history, look about you/'
MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
DANIEL MARSAG1
BY JOHN S. HOOKER
The subject of this sketch in 1828, through the kindness and influ-
ence of his uncle George Campau came to the mouth of Flat River
(Quab-ah-quash-a), where he erected a small log cabin on the south
bank of Grand River ( O-wash-te-nong, see-bee). There he opened a
trading post, his only customers, of course, were the Indians, as he
was the only white man for miles around. He made his home with the
chief (Wab-win-de-go). He was well liked by all the tribe and was a
welcome guest in all their homes. Although but a mere boy he was
a man of commanding appearance, tall, straight as a reed and an all-
round athlete which in the eyes of the Indians went far in constituting
a perfect man.
It was quite natural that the dusky maidens should look upon the
young man with favor, but of all others Je-nute, the daughter of one
of the under-chiefs, was most pleasing to him. She was truly a most
beautiful and wonderful girl, notwithstanding her parentage. It is said,
(in story) that he made many protestations of love and propositions to
take her among his people and provide for her a home worthy the
queen she was, to all of which she turned a deaf ear. However she did
not deny or attempt to conceal her admiration of his noble qualities,
but would not listen to leaving her people, claiming that she was a
child of nature and of the forest.
As time passed young Marsac found it necessary to have a home of
his own. His trade increased and it became necessary to have assist-
ants. After much persuasion he induced Je-nute to come to his home
as his wife and they were married after the rites and ceremonies of
the Ottawa tribe. For several years they lived happily in their little
home which he had made most comfortable. She proved all that a
true and loving wife could. To them was born one child, a girl. When
little Marie came to be eight or nine years old Mr. Marsac insisted that
the child should be sent to Detroit among his relatives, to be educated.
This nearly broke the mother's heart. This child was the idol of the
whole tribe and was truly beautiful. Notwithstanding the opposition,
he took her to Detroit where she only remained a short time when she
*8t. Anne's Church Records of Detroit, give Daniel Marsac's birth January 25,
1812, baptized January 26, 1812. Hie was the son of Rene Marsac and Eulalie
Gouin.
DANIEL MARSAC.
JOHN S. HOOKER.
JOHN S. HOOKER 61
was taken sick and died.2 Only a short time after this Mr. Marsac went
to Detroit and married a woman3 of his own nationality and brought
her to his home at Flat River. This was the crushing blow to Je-nute.
The story is very pathetic, but I will simply say that she left and went
among her people and died at an early age.
After Mr. Marsac's second marriage he did not prosper as well and
his habits were not exemplary. He, in a measure, ceased trading with
the Indians and turned his attention more to farming. He sold, or
traded, his land on the south side of Grand River and bought on the
north side a fractional eighty acre lot where he platted a portion of it
and gave it the name of Dansville. This is now a part of that portion
of Lowell laying east of Flat River.
In November, 1846 he sold to C. S. Hooker nine acres of this land
for the purpose of building a flouring mill. Very soon after this he
sold the remainder to one Abel Avery. Marsac and his family moved
to Monroe, where they lived for several years and he engaged in farm-
ing. From there he moved to Georgetown, Ottawa County, where he
again took up farming for several years. His next and final move was
to Grand Rapids where he remained sometime. Just before his death he
went to Port Sheldon and died there at the age of sixty-eight years.
By his second wife, he had eleven children, only two of whom are
now living.
JOHN S. HOOKER OF LOWELL
(From Grand Rapids paper, Nov. 10, 1906.)
John S. Hooker was born August 29, 1830. Seven years later his
father, Cyporean S. Hooker with the family settled at the trading post
that has since claimed the French name of Saranac. It was July 2,
1837, when the Hookers took up their abode at Saranac and there was
far too much work to be done that year to permit of a Fourth of July
celebration. The elder Hooker was a builder. It was Oyporean Hooker
who designed and threw one of the first bridges over Grand River. This
structure was put up at Portland.
At Saranac Young Hooker met Che-na-go, son of Wab-she-gun, a young
Indian with a heart as white as it was brave. Friendship between the
white and Indian boy ripened and Mr. Hooker still cherishes the memory
of Che-na-go as one of the brightest spots in a long and not unpleasant
life.
2On March 27, 1839, there was buried in Detroit, a child, aged five years, daugh-
ter of Daniel Marsac and an Indian woman.— 8t. Anne's Church Records, Detroit.
3Daniel Marsac was married to Colette Beaufait, December 28, 1835, by Bishop
Rese. — St. Anne's Church Records, Detroit.
62 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
In 1846 the Hooker family moved to Lowell, then a mere trading post
with only one other white settler. Before this, John S. Hooker, because
of his sharp voice had been named Cap-squa-itt by his Indian friends and
the name stuck to him wherever he went among the red men. It was
because of his universal popularity among the Indians and their evident
faith in his fairness that as a mere boy he was employed as an interpreter
for Alfred A. Dwight who opened the first store in what is now Lowell.
Young Hooker made the first sale out of a real store in the shape of a
pound of raisins to John Robinson.
The boy was next employed as manager of a store owned by Daniel
Marsac, who went away soon after employing the young man and left
him in sole charge for more than a year. Here he traded extensively
with the Indians taking furs and rawhide in change for his goods. Mr.
Hooker then employed two Indian families to tan and cure the rawhide
into buckskin. Among those who tanned and cured for Cap-squa-itt was
Negonc (bright), granddaughter of the great Ottawa chieftain Cob-moo-
sa. Negonc was the prettiest, brightest and most intelligent Indian girl
Mr. Hooker ever knew. She was a veritable infant prodigy at needle
and bead work and was born on the site now occupied by Lowell's
latest and finest business block, "The Negonce," which was christened
by Mr. Hooker at the suggestion of its owners, on the occasion of the
laying of the cornerstone something more than a year ago.
After his early experience in the Indian trading stores, Mr. Hooker
became an itinerant trader, during the bitter cold winters. During the
winter months the tribes separated, two or three, or possibly half a
dozen families, camping together in some sugar bush on the bank of a
small creek for the winter. Here they trapped and hunted, collecting
furs until the sap began to run, when they devoted themselves to the
making of maple sugar. Hooker with his pack horses rode throughout
the watershed of the Flat and Grand rivers trading with the Indians.
He went alone. He stopped at any wigwam, a welcome guest wherever
night found him.
In all his years of lonely packing in the country of the red man he
never had a moment's difficulty or angry word with an Indian. He came
to know every brave and squaw and papoose in the land of the Ottawas.
In time he came to keep a record of them, the first and probably the only
directory of those days.
The government came to rely upon Oap-squa-itt's directory. It called
upon him for a census of the Ottawas when "payment" time came round
each year. Mr. Hooker then consulted his directory. Made a hurried
trip through the land of the Ottawas, checking up the number of papooses
that bad arrived since the interval of his last trading trip and sent his
lists to Washington. The allotment of treaty money for lands north
JOHN S. HOOKER 63
of Grand River ceded to the government by the Ottawa Nation, was based
on his report. The Indians drew eight dollars per head for young or
old, and "payment" was a season of rejoicing and recourse to the "fire
water" and other evils introduced among the tribes by the white brother.
It is a strange thing that the Indian language does not include an oath.
Swear words like fire water were importations of the white man's.
John S. Hooker has only pleasant memories of the Indians. His
only trouble was with a drunken, crippled brave who insisted on inter-
fering with a Fourth of July celebration years ago when Mr. Hooker
was village marshal at Lowell. The brave attempted to stab Mr. Hooker
in the back but a friend gave a warning cry and the marshal wheeled in
time to disarm his would-be assailant.
On the other hand his life with the Indians was full of incidents of
kindness. The Indian was imbued with the spirit of nature. Whatever
he did was done on a broad, free scale. He hated mightily and never
forgot a friendship.
Mr. Hooker tells of the murder of a white woman and child while
he was still at Saranac. It was said the murder was committed by the
Indians. The whole country was up in arms, Indian and white man
joining in the search for the murderer. Mr. Hooker's father and hired
man joined the search. The mother, fearful now of every Indian, and
the small boy who could see nothing in an Indian to promote other than
friendship, were left alone in the little home in the wilderness. After a
day Wab-sha-gun and his son Ohe-na-go suddenly appeared. The Indian
and his son beached their canoe and approached the house. Mrs. Hooker
was terribly afraid. Her son, wondering at his mother's fear, greeted the
Indians. The mother had counseled the boy not to tell of the absence
of father and hired man, but Wab-sha-gun divined it. He questioned
the boy who told the truth. Wab-sha-gun turned to his son. He directed
him to go to the canoe and get his blanket. Ohe-na-go returned. The
stalwart ^Indian pointed to the floor before the door of the homestead.
"Ohe-na-go stay there," he said. "At night he sleep at door. If come,
Che-na-go say, 'I am here, Che-na-go, son of Wab-sha-gun.' ?:
The young Indian never left the door at night. Before the portal
stretched his protecting body. Not even when the men returned did he
forsake the post. There he slept, refusing a trundle-bed, and there he
lay rolled up in his blanket when his father came at night to the door
of the Hooker home.
The murder was not the work of Indians. Wab-sha-gun, most skilled
of all Indian trailers, in ten minutes showed his white brothers where
the murderer had stepped, where the twigs were broken short by the
sole of a heavy boot. "Not moccasin," said the Indian. "Moccasin break
this way," and with his own foot he broke twigs and held up the curved,
multi-broken twigs. The murder was doubtless the work of the father
64 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and husband, who was years after said to be in hiding in California.
Mr. Hooker wonders, and not unnaturally, that no one in Grand
Rapids has ever used the Indian name by which the town was known.
When there have been contests for names he has been tempted to send
the word Bock-we-ting, meaning rapids, for this is the Indian name of
Grand Rapids. Years after the Indians had gone the old settlers in and
about Lowell when starting upon a trip to Grand Rapids spoke of "going
to Bock-ting." The word was shortened by the settlers. And it was to
Bock-ting Hooker and the other young men came at payment time to
be employed as interpreters in the Grand Rapids stores.
Wash-te-nong was Grand river, meaning longest river. Shaoshkometick
was pine woods; Sogetah (mouth) was Grand Haven's Indian name;
wawa was goose; wawashcash, a deer; miingun, wolf; omeme, pigeon;
pena, partridge; washtena, pretty; nemoose, puppy; namocoche, dog;
kewon, your wife; wewon, my wife; mozhick, much; chicke-Rimewun,
rain. These were some of the common Indian names. Mr. Hooker knew
and still knows the language of the Ojibwas as he knows the English.
He was in later years Indian court interpreter, acting in many import-
ant cases. He points to one peculiarity of the Indian tongue. In it
nowhere is there is a sound calling for the use of an "p."
SOPHIE DE MARSAC CAMPAU1
BY SOPHIE BINGHAM BUCHANAN2
When quite a young girl in short dresses, I came here to attend school,
residing with my brother, a clergyman. Naturally, in his position, he
met many of the older and more prominent citizens of this then thriv-
ing and growing village of nearly two thousand inhabitants. Among
others, we soon heard of this honored and friendly man, Mr. Louis Cam-
pau, and his beloved wife, Sophie de Marsac Campau, as the "Founders"
of this Valley-city, of which we now are so justly proud.
Later when I came here a bride in 1854, I became more interested in
them, passing as they did so frequently my own home on East Fulton
street, and hearing of their kind-heartedness and benevolent work among
the Indians and the poor of this city. Giving a hearty welcome to
strangers and pilgrims who had left home and friends in the east, and
*In gathering material for this brief sketch of Mrs. Campau I am indebted to
Mrs. W. F. Ringuette, Mrs. Ringuette Mallock, Mrs. J. W. Stanley, Mr. and Mrs.
Dennis Campau, Mrs. Danforth, Mrs. E. B. Powers, Miss Lucy Ball, Mrs. James
Campbell, Mrs. S. L. Withey, and to the marble tablets in the Catholic cemetery.
— Author.
2For memoir of Mrs. Buchanan, see this volume.
SOPHIA DE MARSAC CAMPAU.
SOPHIE DB MARSAC 65
venturing thus far, were seeking to make another and a better somewhere
among the western wilds of Michigan. Many through the inducements
held out by these humane pioneers, were persuaded to remain and cast
in their lot with the fortunes of this little Indian hamlet. Hearing of
several families stranded at Ionia, Mr. Louis Campau3 went there,
brought them here, and his good wife joined him in looking after and
caring for them in their own home until they could get a start. Among
those who came first, were Joel Guild, Aunt Hattie Burton, and others.
Sophie de Marsac Campau, was born in Detroit, September 25th,
1807. Her father,4 Major General Rene de Marsac, came from a fine
old French family in France at an early day, and with his wife Eulalie
Gouin, made their home in Detroit. Susanne Marsac married William
H. Godfrey and was the mother of Mrs. E. B. Powers. Their parents
were well-to-do and prominent people of the old regime in the city of
the straits.
From all we can learn of Sophie de Marsac's home life, it was a simple,
joyous, happy and contented one. Her father a man of comparative
wealth in that early time gave his children every advantage possible.
Sophie was educated at the convent and was taught needle-work, cooking,
dancing, deportment, and all the necessary accomplishments of that day
3Louis Campau was born in Detroit, August 11, 1791. He was married twice,
his first wife dying at Saginaw Where he was in the fur business before he went
to Grand Rapids. Memorials of Grand River Valley, p. 10 of memorials.
4Rene" Marsac, born at Grand Marais, in Grosse Pointe, 27 Aug., 1777, married
at Detroit, 21 April, 1806, Eulalie Gouin, born at Detroit, 9 May, 1785, daughter
of Charles Gouin and Susanne Boyer. Eulalie Gouin was buried at Detroit, 18
Jan., 1847. Their children were:
1. Julia Gouin Marsac, born Feb. 1st, baptized at Detroit, 29 April, 1806, married
at Detroit, 16 Jan., 1827, Anthony Rivard, born at Detroit, 5 Dec., 1798, son of
Michael Rivard and Agnes Saucier. Anthony Rivard was buried at Assumption
church, Greinerville, 2 Nov., 1887. Julia Marsac died at Detroit, was buried at
Assumption church, Greinerville, 20 March, 1888.
2. Sophie Marsac, born at Detroit, 25 Sept., 1807, married there, 9 Aug., 1825,
Louis Campau, born at Detroit, 16 Aug., 1791, widower of Ann Knaggs, son of
Louis Campau and Therese Moran.
3. Susanne Marsac, born at Detroit, 3 Feb., 1810.
4. Daniel Marsac, born at Detroit, 25 Jan., 1812, married there 28 Dec., 1836,
Scholastica (Colette) Beaufait (Beufait), born at Detroit, 10 Feb., 1816, daughter
of Louis Beufait and Marie Louise Saucier.
5. Therese Marsac, born at Detroit, Dec. 15, 1814, married there 24 Jan., 1837,
Julius Patrick Bolivar McCabe, the author of the first directory of Detroit.
6. Charles Marsac, born 3 April, baptized at Ste. Anne's, Detroit, 26 May, 1817.
7. Emily Marsac, born at Detroit, 1 March 1819, married at Saginaw, Mich., be-
fore a civil magistrate, Toussaint Campau, born at Detroit, 7 Nov., 1818, son of
Henry Campau and Geneveva Marsac. This marriage was ratified in the Catholic
church at Saginaw by a missionary priest, 2 Sept., 1843, and was recorded at Ste.
Anne's, Detroit. Both bride and groom resided at Saginaw.
8. Marie Edesse Marsac, born at Detroit, 1 Aug., 1821.
9. Henrietta Marsac, born at Detroit, 12 Dec., 1823.
10. Eulalie Julia Marsac, born at Detroit, 3 July, 1827, married there, 20 Nov.,
1845, Franklin M. Wing, born in 1820. Both bride and groom lived in Detroit.
(From notes by the Rev. Christian Denissen, who died in Detroit, Oct. 27, 1911.)
(See also Records of Ste. Anne's church, Detroit.)
9
66 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and generation. In Detroit, August 9th, 1825, this lovely young girl of
eighteen became the bride of Louis Campau.
But the course of true love even for Uncle Louis and Aunt Sophie did
not for a time run quite smooth; for being cousins of the fourth de-
gree, the limitations and restrictions of their beloved Church in this
regard were only overcome in the granting of a dispensation by Rev.
Father Gabriel Richard (vicar-general) permitting the marriage which,
he himself performed, "giving them the nuptial blessing according to
the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church.'7 The date of this mar-
riage was obtained from the records of St. Anne's Church in Detroit.
Two years later Louis Campau with his bride started out on their long
journey through the wilderness, and settled in their new home on the
banks of Grand River.
Accustomed as she had been to the delightful atmosphere of this old
garrison town of Detroit, with warm friends, genial companions, happy
home life, hoAv great the change to this lonely Indian village; herself
the first and only white woman in it. But it was to be her home; and
she entered heart and soul into the work apparently laid out before her.
Sophie de Marsac Campau was a beautiful woman, tall and slender,
easy and graceful in manner, lovely in character and disposition. As
one old friend remarked, "She was the only person he ever knew with-
out a flaw." Her serenity of character and even temperament under all
circumstances, adverse or otherwise, proved an excellent foil to her
husband's impetuous nature. A great home body, a devout Catholic,
true to her religious principles, a fine hostess and kind mistress, she
was a favorite with all. May 5th, 1828, Rev. Leonard Slater5 with his
bride arrived. He started the Baptist Mission on the west side of the
river, and to Mrs. Campau at the old fur-trading post on the east side,
this addition brought joy to her lonely heart.
How delightful as we of to-day look back at the beautiful friendship
existing between these two lovely Christian women ; this Protestant and
this Catholic, besides coming nearly at the same time; happy even look-
ing into each other's faces, for they were the only two white women in
the Valley at this time. Mrs. Campau later told this story to a dear
friend. "I so glad dear Mrs. Slater come. We the only white
women here. We go back and forth to see one another often. I speak
no word of English, Mrs. Slater she speak no word of French. But
we just sit and look at each other, and we make signs so we partly
understand, and we so happy!" This strong and loving companionship
continued until the Slaters left for another field of labor.
Mr. and Mrs. Campau among other beneficent work, adopted and
brought up his nephew Antoine Campau, who recently died at the
r'Mr. Slater and his wife arrived May 5, 1828. History of Kent Co., p. 176.
SOPHIE DE MARSAC 67
Soldiers' Home. Also a French and Indian girl (one-quarter Indian)
Lucy Genereux. She was sent to the Convent, educated and developed
into a beautiful woman of commanding presence and personality. Later
married Mr. John Godfroy, but died soon after of consumption. Years
passed on and Louis Campau prospered, amassed quite a fortune for
those early days, and with his wife proved the same generous, warm-
hearted couple as of old. He traded with the Indians, bought and sold
their furs, maple sugar, fish and whatever they had. I trust he did not
meet with the same experience as did my father in his mission station,
at Sault de Sainte Marie. The Indians there made the finest of maple
sugar, white and nice. Father bought it by the Mucknck (Mocock) and
frequently used it in his coffee. One fine morning as he stirred his
fragrant cup of coffee, lo, a small but elegant lizard made its appear-
ance ! ! Thereafter maple sugar was banished from our table.
Mr. Campau built his home at the head of East Fulton street hill, and
with his good wife, dispensed alike their broad hospitality to neighbors,
friends, relatives, Whites and Indians. Their generosity and kindness
of heart was unbounded even to their own detriment. No poor Indian
too ragged, unkempt or dirty to be welcomed cordially to their hearth
and home. They were warmed, blanketed and fed as the case required.
One freezing night a party of Indians congregated in the yard. It
was too cold for them outside. They were brought into the sitting-
room and kitchen, where, after a good meal prepared by Aunt Sophie
and the servants, they laid down on the floor wrapped in blankets, fur-
nished by Uncle Louis, and slept soundly till early morning when, like
the Arabs of old, "they silently stole away."
For nearly two years she took the six motherless children of a sister
(or relative) kept and cared for them in their home. The mother and
one child they buried in their own yard until in 1857 they were re-
moved to the Catholic cemetery. These are but few of many incidents
constantly occurring in the pioneer life of this kind-hearted and philan-
thropic couple.
No doubt some of the older inhabitants can remember the spacious
mansion, with its wide hall and good-sized rooms. In one a fine velvet
carpet covered the floor. In another was the so-called "Peacock Carpet"
from its resemblance to this handsome bird, with tail out-spread to
show its beauty. The dining-room painted in blue and white, with its
dainty china, looked very invitiHg. Most of the furniture was of
very rich looking genuine mahogany. The great "Musical Clock" stood
in the broad hall, and all the children and fun-loving young people
danced to its music.
A French clock of great beauty, of rosewood, onyx and gilt stood on
the parlor mantel. Mrs. Danforth, a niece, has this clock now in her
68 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
possession. Elegant lace curtains, rare and choice,, costing hundreds
of dollars, hung from the windows. The large chambers above had
hangings of creton, one room in blue, the other in white. Aunt Sophie
gave a party in the "Apple Orchard" to celebrate the time of her niece's
and nephew's first communion. The priest, the school-teacher, and the
children were all invited to partake of the abundant feast prepared, and
it was an event long to be remembered.
Their home was the rendezvous for numerous nephews and nieces, and
a pleasant gathering place for young and old in which to congregate
and talk over old times and new, as well as having an occasional old
fashioned cotillion party, to "trip the light fantastic toe," in which all
joined. Even during the War of the Rebellion the soldiers were invited
over to the apple orchard, and told to help themselves.
Aunt Sophie one morning was making crullers, expecting a few
friends in for tea, when a lot of Indians came in. Uncle Louis called
out, "Give them some." "No I can't," said she, "I'm preparing for
company." But with her usual good nature, she passed the sieve in
which they lay to an old Indian woman near her, who most unexpectedly
tipped its contents into her blanket! And so, alas! poor Aunt Sophie
bad to make another batch for her evening guests.
She dressed very handsomely, for Uncle Louis loved to see her in
rich attire. She was a fine cook! to say "fine" hardly expresses it.
She was a beautiful cook, to which all could testify who sat at her
table. She gave a dinner party one day, to some of her neighbors, Mrs.
Depew, Miss Burch, Mr. and Mrs. Sarel Wood, Mr. and Mrs. VanBent-
husen, and a few others. Introducing Mr. VanBenthusen in her pretty
French way to her guests she said, "I arn very glad to meet you, Mr. Vaii-
Benthusen Berry, and have you get acquainted with my frens." (friends).
To which he gallantly replied, "Thank you, but with your permission
Mrs. Campau, I will leave off the "berry." Mrs. Campau and Mrs.
Depew were near neighbors and close friends. They often talked over
their religious beliefs and convictions. Each with bible in hand looked
over and compared notes and passages of scriptures trying in a friendly
spirit, to understand more clearly and truthfully, if possible, the mean-
ing of their own particular Bible as it appeared to them. But with
the ever growing thought that, in the near future, they would meet
heart and soul, as loving sisters, in the "Paradise" above.
In later years when reverses came, they sold the East Fulton Street
.home, and moved into the house now owned by "our" Dr. Rutherford,
next the Ladies' Literary Club building. Mrs. Campau's heroic and
unwavering fortitude amid trying circumstances showed the true,
saint-like spirit, for some did indeed call her a "Saint on Earth." After
a short illness of three weeks she passed sweetly and peacefully to her
DANIEL BALL.
DANIEL BALL 69
rest, July 31st, 1869, in her sixty-second year, beloved and revered by
all who knew Sophie de Marsac Campau.
Shall we not indeed even at this late day, do honor to this brave,
yet gentle woman, who seconded in every way possible her husband's
efforts by her self-sacrificing spirit, her generosity, her large-hearted-
ness and simple kindness, to these people of a darker skin, who minis-
tered with her own hands to their necessities and when trouble or
sickness came helped to lay their little ones away when disease lessened
their thinning ranks. She, like the Master of old, "went about doing
good."
May we not by following her example and sweet spirit of charity, and
by emulating her virtues, be of service in some way in this work-a-day
world, and the effect of her influence on ourselves still be so felt as
to let our world know, in a quiet way, that we women of to-day of this
Valley Citv have not lived in vain.
DANIEL BALL1
BY C. C. CO'M STOCK
Daniel Ball was born in Cheshire County, N. H.,2 and removed with
his parents to western New York while he was quite young. This I
learned from him after I became a resident of this city in 1853. From
and after that time I became intimately acquainted with Mr. Ball in
business and financial affairs, and our business relations were con-
tinuous so long as he remained with us. It now seems that my dealings
with him during those years were greater than with all others of this
city and I have nothing but kind words to speak of his memory.
At that time he seemed to be the life of the city and it appeared to
invite capital and men of energy, and such effects are far-reaching.
Examples for good or evil are contagious, and his stimulated others
to activity. The effects may be seen in the building up of this prosper-
ous city. If this place had been deficient in all the enterprises in
which Mr. Ball was then engaged, it would have had the appearance of
1This paper was written by C. C. Comstock for the Old Residents' Reunion at
Sweet's Hotel, Grand Rapids, Feb. 19, 1895, and by request read by his daughter,
Mrs. Lucius Boltwood, at the midwinter meeting, Grand Rapids, Jan., 1907.
2Daniel Ball, son of John Ball and Nancy Bradbury, was born July 30, 1808,
and died at Jamestown, N. Y., Dec. 30, 1872, aged sixty-five years. He married
Mary Covert in Rochester, N. Y., Feb. 13, 1832, and had three children: Byron
D. Ball, born July 19, 1833, died Feb. 4, 1876; Mary E. Ball, born Feb. 23, 1836,
died, ; Julia E. Ball, born Oct. 20, 1838, died . Byron D. Ball married
Martha M. Linnell, July 26, 1854, and had five children, Julia M. (died in in-
fancy), Daniel, Byron L., Ashley L., and Martha, all living. (Furnished by Daniel
Ball, grandson.)
70 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
a dead town, and nowise inviting for strangers to locate here. One
such man alone may be the cause of the building up of a great city
and cause it to surpass its rivals. I had scarcely heard of Grand
Rapids one month before I came, while Kalamazoo, Battle Greek and
Ionia were familiar names. It is the live towns where men can find
employment as laborers, and for their capital, which draw together a
healthy population. A town built by speculators without the industries
is a failure. Prosperity only lasts while it is being built. Perhaps
the Hon. William T. Powers with Morris Ball as partner in the manu-
facture and sale of furniture and lumber, were the next in push and en-
terprise, but their capital and help employed was small when compared
with that of Daniel Ball. The much larger proportion of the residents were
worthy and law-abiding citizens, but furnished little employment for
mechanics or laboring men. The only power used for manufacturing
was taken from the east side canal and Coldbrook, except one steam
sawmill just completed by Powers and Ball at the head of the Rapids.
There was not one hundred dollars worth of sash and door machinery
in use, and but one machine for dressing and matching lumber, and the
price for doing that work was $4.50 per thousand feet. The industries
seemed hardly sufficient to support the inhabitants then here, for very
little of building and improvement was being made. There were many
highly honorable merchants and professional men for a place of its
size. The place was full of speculators, all prepared to sell fortunes by
the acre, where great cities were sure to be built, and it was said there
were forty thieves ready to distribute among themselves all the estates
of venturesome new settlers; but I think that Mr. Ball had no friends
among them, for he was too deep for their plots and too well fortified
to be assaulted. There was no scarcity of lawyers, for "the first time I
was compelled to appeal to the courts, I called on nine who were retain-
ed against me, before I found one running loose, and after I gave him
my case,, I found him closeted with my antagonist several times, prob-
ably to learn the strong points in my suit. At the first trial the judge
decided in the way to do the "greatest good to the greatest number"
of lawyers, and the ends of justice required eight years of litigation,
when I thought it should have been reached in three months.
There were no railroads to this city at that time and the only inlet
or outlet for goods and merchandise was by way of Grand River, or
by hauling with teams from and to Battle Creek or Kalamazoo. For
transportation of all farm products and other merchandise, except lum-
ber and shingle which were rafted, the people were dependent upon
the steamboats of Daniel Ball. He had boats running from the head
of the Rapids to Lyons, and more from below the Rapids to Grand
Haven, always making the necessary improvements in the channel at his
DANIEL BALL, 71
own expense. He brought the wheat and other grains from all points
up the Valley this side of Lyons, to the head of the Kapids with his
boats, then with his teams delivered it in the city or to his boats below
for transportation to other markets. There were a few other steam-
ers built to run in competition with Mr. Ball's line, but I think the
undertaking proved unprofitable and was soon abandoned. In looking
as he did after the details of this business alone, it was enough to baffle
the minds of ordinary men. He also owned the foundry and machine
shop where the Butterworth and Lowe works now are, and kept a large
number of employes there. With the Hon. Martin L. Sweet, he made
nearly all the flour produced in the city. They owned and operated two
large mills. He was the owner of perhaps one-half of the real estate
between the line of Division street and Grand River, from Lyon street
to Goldbrook street, including the east side canal, and a large portion
of the Kent plat south of Monroe street, now covered with costly blocks
and other improvements. He, also, owned Island Number 1 on Pearl
street and much other improved and unimproved property in this
city, at Lyons and other places in Michigan, requiring great care and
attention. But the most useful, risky and difficult of all in those days
of uncertainty was the banking business, in which he predominated in
this part of the State. For a time he was operating three banks in this
valley. One in this city,3 one at Ionia and one at Lyons. For pro-
tection against worthless and counterfeit money then in circulation,
it was necessary to consult a bank note detector, published almost
daily. Eastern capitalists were fearful of losing all money loaned upon
western securities, but in the fall of 1854, business and manufacturing
was increasing rapidly and there was great need of more money, there-
fore I negotiated a loan of several thousands of dollars with a bank
in New Hampshire for Mr. Ball to add to the capital of his bank, and
about one year later, two of their directors visited Grand Rapids and
were so struck with admiration of Mr. Ball and his capacity for busi-
ness, that they trebled the loan. Our worthy and successful townsman
Mr. Harvey I. Hollister4 of the Old National Bank took his first lessons
in banking from Mr. Ball and was his faithful and trusted cashier in
this city so long as Mr. Ball remained in business here.
It is hard for business men of the present day to conceive of the
hardships of those times and especially so after the fall of 1857. Pros-
perity was worth nothing except the immediate necessities of life, and
those were largely exchanged for other goods. Money worth everything ;
8This bank was called the Exchange Bank of D. Dall and Co., and was located
in the second story (reached by an outside stairway) of the Daniel Ball ware-
house which stood on the exact area now occupied by the Old National Bank offices.
The lower floor was a storehouse for all kinds of merchandise brought by boats.
Michigan Tradesman, Sept. 8, 1908.
4See Vol. XXXV, p. 643, this series.
72 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
three per cent per month at the banks,! and from six to eight per cent for
eastern exchange.5 Some people called it robbery, still I doubt that
the profits equaled the losses. I had a clerk and salesman in my em-
ploy who loaned one hundred dollars of his own money to a real estate
dealer, and charged and received eight dollars every thirty days, year
in and year out for its use.
Mr. Ball was large in stature with manly features. In the manage-
ment of extensive and complicated business affairs, under like condi-
tions, I have no proof of having ever met his equal. He was a father to
the industries which make permanent prosperity possible. His trans-
portation line was as essential as our railroads are today. His various
enterprises gave employment to a small army of laborers, overseers,
skilled mechanics, clerks, bookkeepers, bank and boat officers and much
business for the legal profession. He paid one lawyer $1,400 per year
for looking after his land titles alone. With his banks he upheld the
merchants, the manufacturers and the business of the valley. His genius
and enterprise opened up the paths to wealth for his fellow-men. He
was not haughty, but easily approached by the most humble. His
habits of temperance and morality were never questioned. He had no
sectional prejudice which prevented him from aiding every worthy en-
terprise without regard to its location. He had little time to demon-
strate his kindly and neighborly feelings, but I remember no other busi-
ness man who came to my bedside when I was brought low and nigh
unto death in 1855.
In closing up his business affairs in 1864/ his only desire seemed to
be to honorably discharge all obligations against him. I think that he
exhibited the highest order of business talent, never excited, but always
cool and calculating, tireless in his energies and highly esteemed by
all in his employ. From them I never heard a murmur. The Hon. Henry
Seymour, once a trusted agent of Mr. Ball, was afterwards with me
in business and always spoke in the highest terms of praise of Mr. Ball.
Such men always meet with opposition from envy, if from no other cause,
but without noise or parade, he seemed to possess in his nature an
irresistible under-current and power of combining forces to meet and
turn aside all obstacles. He was intensely earnest in all his under-
curing the period from 1850 to 1860 rates of exchange were enormous, reaching
at one time as high as ten per cent, and never going lower than one-half per cent
on any kind of paper money or coin. About the only currency in circulation in the
Grand River valley at that time was that of Illinois and Wisconsin banks and
what was known as "Daniel Ball currency." Items furnished by Daniel Ball
(grandson).
8In October, 1861, Daniel Ball and Co. were forced to go into liquidation, having
suffered numerous failures of individuals and banks of issue in Illinois and Wis-
consin. They paid all their obligations in full, with interest before his death.
One of the principal causes contributing to Mr. Ball's failure was the demand made
by eastern investors that they be paid in specie instead of notes. (Furnished by
Daniel Ball, grandson.)
GEORGE II. CANNON.
PREHISTORIC FORTS IN MACOMB COUNTY 73
takings, never idle, the lamps in his office went out late at night, and
the stars that now shine upon his early made grave witnessed his return
to his never finished task in the morning. He bore his burdens like
the still waters which run deep, but he did not have in his nature that
mirthfulness which sometimes acts as a safety valve to an overtaxed
brain. Being a man of stately form and great endurance he proved that
there is a limit to human exertions. I think his greatest mistake was
in allowing himself to be so heavily loaded with business that he had
no time for rest, not one full day in seven, and old age came upon
him prematurely long before he had seen threescore years. Then with
energies exhausted, he left the fruits of his wonderful efforts for others
to gather and enjoy. I feel incompetent to do justice to his memory.
I am not master of language to fully express my appreciation of the
value of his life in this community. Unless a man dies almost in the
midst of his usefulness, it matters not what he may have done that is
past, he is little missed and soon forgotten. So it was with Mr. Ball.
His health and fortune had suffered and for thirty years his friends
have been silent and the envious have held their peace. He died in
New York, but his mortal remains rest in the valley he loved and served
so well. We have loved and lost other great men. We miss them from
our councils, from private associations, from places of trust, from acts
of benevolence; they were our guiding stars and their memories should
always be held sacred, but not within my knowledge has the welfare
of this city ever been so dependent upon the life of any of her citizens,
as it was upon the masterly genius and serene fortitude of Daniel Ball.
PREHISTORIC FORTS IN MAOOMB COUNTY1
BY GEORGE H. CANNON2
But a few years elapsed after the linear surveys were made
in Macomb County when home-seekers were in evidence, selecting
lands for settlement and occupancy. The surprise was very
great when it was discovered that the region had once been oc-
cupied by a people now extinct and unknown. In various places, but
more often in the vicinity ol-rivers, were seen mounds of earth or stone,
and evidences of once cultivated lands of considerable area, and when
along and near to the north branch of the Clinton river no less than
three structures enclosing areas of from one to three acres in extent
were discovered, the interest became very great among the settlers to
JRead at the annual meeting, June, 1907.
2For memoir, see this volume.
74 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
know who those people were. As there was no mistaking the fact that
they were the work of human hands, much speculation was indulged
in as to what purpose they were designed to subserve and why they
should have been constructed at all. The Indians then occupying the
field were as ignorant as the Whites, they had no traditions, even of
their origin or by whom they were constructed; all was garbed in
mystery. Whether built by the so-called mound builders or others no
one could tell. There they stand silent mementoes of a once industrious
and numerous people now entirely extinct.
Except for the ravages of time, these when first seen were in the
same condition as when left by the builders. The native forests had
covered these works, trees of large size were found growing in the
area, in the ditch, and on the embankment. The earth was thrown up
into a ridge several feet wide at the base and about four feet in height
from the bottom of the trench. Gateways or openings in the embank-
ments were found in each enclosure which were called by the first
settlers Indian forts. The fact that the outline of these interesting
structures have been proved to us is entirely due to the effort, public
spirit and forethought of Dr. Dennis C'ooley who caused a survey to
be made as early as 1827 or 1828. At that date the axman had not
done his work nor the plow leveled the embankment. Mr. John B.
Hollister, county surveyor for Macomb County was employed to make
the survey. As I write the report is before me, dated April 10, 1830;
the ink is scarcely faded, the distances and courses along the embark-
ment are easily made out and are shown in the diagrams, figures 1, 2,
3, and 4.
Figure 4 shows the relative position of the structures as I found
them forty-five years later. Mr. Hollister was slow in making out his
report and appears to have required much urging. I copy that por-
tion of his letter which shows how he got even with the Doctor's prod-
ding, and I imagine a satisfactory smile crept over the Doctor's face
as he read it. "I have no apology to offer, my dear sir, nor anything
like an apology, as that would be entirely useless as I am sensible
it would add insult to injury; suffice to say that I have procrastinated
from day to day, month to month and from year to year. Now if you
will forgive this long neglect of mine / will pray when I think the
Gods will hear me that all your frailties may be forgiven at the great
bar of retribution." We are thankful that the Doctor got the report
as it is, I believe, the first authentic survey ever made of such struct-
ures in Michigan. From this we learn that the north fort, diagram
I, is situated on the east half of the northeast quarter section 3, 25
north range 12 east, now township of Bruce. It is near the north line
of the section and its area was a little over an acre. The embankment
PREHISTORIC FORTS IN MACOMB COUNTY.
75
y
-
8 roci«
76 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Worrfi
Hfk
PREHISTORIC FORTS IN MACOMB COUNTY 77
had three openings, supposed to be gateways of ten, twelve and fifteen
feet in width, as seen in plan. A small brook flowed southeasterly near
to its south border. The country in its immediate vicinity is quite
level, but becomes more rolling within a mile to the westward. The
north branch of the Clinton Kiver was less than a mile to the east
The flat land to the southward showed signs of cultivation. The em-
bankment had been made by throwing up the dirt from the outside,
except along the south side, when at my visit it was scarcely traceable.
The whole structure was covered with the native forest and at that
date had been undisturbed since its builders had left it. The first set-
tlers report the existence of a large circular mound, situated a few rods
to the east, of sufficient height to overlook the entire country for a
considerable distance, supposed to be used as a watchtower. The em-
bankment measured very nearly 800 feet including the openings, and
so far as I am aware may be seen today substantially as when the
survey was made eighty years ago.
The large or central fort, as we may consider it, was in a direct line
some three miles distant to the southeast, — diagram 2 — situated on
elevated ground on the right bank of the river, and had an area of
three acres and fifty-one rods, aside from a wall some 200 feet in length,
which the surveyor designated as the south wing. The circumference
of the large work was 1,268 feet. There were three gateways of narrow
width, two on the east near the river and one on the west side. The
structure stood on an elevated plateau some ten feet above the river
which flowed close along its eastern side. Within the area was a small
pond, but nothing else of note was apparent. To the southwest and
near the bank were many tumuli or small mounds, the supposed bury-
ing ground of the people. The whole structure it is said had an impos-
ing appearance and must have stirred the imagination of the observer.
This fort is situated on the west half of the southwest quarter of sec-
tion 18, township 5 north of range 13 east as given by Mr. Hollister.
About a mile and a half to the southwest was found the third fort,
diagram 3, its. location being on the west half of the northeast quarter
of section 25 north range 12 east. This structure had four openings,
two of twelve, one of fifteen and a large one of some eighty feet, which
may have been an uncompleted wall near which were extensive tumuli.
Its circumference was 870 feet and area included more than an acre of
land.
The north branch was not far distant and a small stream was near
the south side. Evidences of once cultivated ground were to be seen
near all these structures. While great credit is due Mr. Hollister for
making this survey he is strangely silent in regard to much that we
now would be glad to know as he says not a word as to the height
78 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of the embankment, depth of the ditch, from which the earth was thrown,
and other information which at that date was easily accessible, as all
was there just as the builders left it, a minute examination would have
been of interest to the archeologist of today. It is to be hoped that
further research may bring to light other similar works elsewhere in
our State. At present I know of but one similar structure, and that is
situated a few miles below Detroit in Springwells. It is of about the
same size and similar to Fort No. 1, described in this sketch. It is
mentioned by Bela Hubbard in his Memoirs of Fifty Years who also
gives an interesting account of mounds in its near vicinity.
That these structures were the work of many hands there can be no
doubt. The erection of such extensive embankments without the aid
of any tools with which we are accustomed must have required thous-
ands of workers and for a long period of time.
OLD BALDOON
BY MRS. JANE M. KINNEY1
This settlement of Highland Scotch people led by the Earl of Selkirk,
is in Canada up the river that empties into the St. Glair River, nearly
opposite Algonac and the mouth of which is at the north end of Wai-
pole Island.
About five miles up the Sydenham River or Chenal Ecarte" we find in
Dover Township south of and bounded by the Indian line of the 1790
surrender, on the north by the Chenal Ecarte on the southwest and by
Bear Creek on the Sydenham River on the southeast lies that triangular
tract of land in area some 950 acres known as the Baldoon farm. The
property at one time of the Right Hon. Thomas Douglas, fifth Earl of
Selkirk2 of St. Mary's, Isle Kirkcudbright, Scotland.
Upon what understanding he became possessor of these lands, whether
upon condition of settlement is not very well known, but that he received
absolute title to the same as also to lands adjoining south of Bear Creek
by patents, the former bearing date 18th March, 1806 and the latter
at different times in 1806-1807, that he was also to receive, as was gen-
erally believed by the earliest settlers, the lands known as the Baldoon
range of lots between Chatham and Bear Creek upon conditions of set-
tlement similar to those enjoyed by Col. Talbot in the Lake Erie grants,
'Read at the annual meeting, June 27, 1907.
2See sketch of the Earl of Selkirk, Vols. XXXVI, p. 59, and XXXVII, p. 613, this
series. The name "Dundas" is a mistake for "Douglas" in both sketches.
OLD BALDOON 79
is also probable as the surveyor-general's instructions reputing certain
surveys thereof said they were undertaken on the Earl's behalf.3
It may not be generally known that lot 24, Dover, 189 acres and lots
1-2 Chatham, 389 acres now forming the town of Chatham north of the
River Thames, were patented to the Earl of Selkirk, 28th of March,
1807, at all events to the Baldoon farm so named after a Highland
Scottish Parish. In 1804 the Earl came, with a company of Scotch
people, to settle them on these lands. It would be impossible at this
time to speculate as to his personal motives. Selkirk's arguments to
induce the people to take part in his schemes were not without plausible
exaggeration and honeyed words. He may have been a philanthropist
but was just as surely an adventurer, and used those things necessary
to forward his plans.
For weeks and months the subject of going to America to Canada
was the sole text of conversation until about about a dozen families
consented to take part in his schemes and started for America.
The Isle of Mull was the home of nearly all who sought a home
in the new country. Among those who first reached Baldoon
were: Angus McDonald, farmer of Argyle, Daniel McDonald, piper
of Argyle, Peter McDonald, school-teacher of Argyle, Allen Mc-
Lean, farmer, Donald McCallum, farmer, Charles Morrison,
Argyle, McPherson, farmer of Argyle, Buchanan, John McDonald, Albert
McDonald of Argyle, John and Allen McDougall. Strange as it may
seem the lands bordering on the Chenal Ecart£ were not the low, marshy
over-flowed lands of today. The banks were at all places well defined
and the mistake made by Selkirk was more in the light of later events
than of the dates of which I write. There has been a gradual trans-
formation by the rising of the water. The Earl had provided that each
family should have a farm of its own and land which could soonest be
brought into cultivation was selected and laid out along the river bank
on the southeast side of the river Sydenham and just west of where
the town line reaches the river. Selkirk also sought to provide ma-
terial for the houses. Everything during the fall and winter that could
be done was done toward preparing these houses and getting ready to
break ground for cultivation in the spring, but with the few facilities
for the work, sickness and the thousand and one other discouragements,
there was little happiness an<J- many a strong heart that never before
weakened almost cursed the day when they set out for Baldoon.
The Isle of Mull from which these brave people sailed is the largest
of the Inner Hebrides and belongs to the county of Argyle. It is triangu-
lar and washed by the Atlantic on the west and north and on the north-
Selkirk made application for land for his settlement in 1803. See Letter from
Lt. Gen. Hunter, Feb. 28, 1803, Vol. XXIII, p. 429, this series.
80 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
east by the Sound of Mull. The comfortable homes from which they
went looked out on a rugged head-land putting out into the ocean where
its bluff and rocky base was continually lashed by the heavy swells.
The somber old castle on its summit spoke only of the days when Mull
itself had its clans and petty governments. When they sailed from
Tobermory it was a sad parting; neighbors and friends flocked to the
shore to say a last good-bye; parents giving a last embrace to their
children whom they could not expect to see again.
The trip to Kirkaldy was uneventful but there they met their first
disappointment. War had been declared between England and France
and French privateers were on every sea, Selkirk thought it not safe
to proceed and they settled down at Kirkaldy to wait for a year, anxious
as they were to see their new home. At last on a beautiful May morning
they went on board the good ship Oughton, the breeze hardly strong
enough to fill the sails, and the sun in all its splendor marked old Scot-
land's shores bright and glorious, the low swell of the tide gave back
its shining rays in one continuous reflection filling the hearts of most
with pleasure as it denoted a safe and comfortable voyage. The first
event on shipboard was of a sad nature. WThen out about three weeks
a young boy, the brother of Mr. John Buchanan, was taken sick and
buried at sea. There was a dead calm at the time, all preparations had
been made. The ship had been made as trim as possible for the occasion
and the sailors were dressed befittingly and stood in double file on each
side of the remains. The captain read the burial service from the
prayer book and the friends took a last sad look, then the body weighted
by shot, was dropped overboard and immediately carried hundreds of
fathoms below.
The sadness of the relatives was augmented by the sadness of such
a burial and made an impression never to be forgotten, on the children
who witnessed the burial at sea. It was five weeks before land was
sighted. As large fog banks cleared away the banks of Newfoundland
appeared. Another week elapsed before they reached Montreal. When
they left the ship they naturally judged the whole country by what they
saw first. The scenery at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River is wierd
and majestic, and to tourists, furnish subjects for unlimited admira-
tion. But the Highlanders were looking for a home, a place to till the
soil expecting to own large fertile farms and the rock-bound shores
somewhat modified their happy anticipations. There were seven hundred
miles to travel before the home selected by Selkirk could be reached and
there must be time to prepare for the long cold winter.
Arrangements were at once made to transport the people and their
household goods around the La Ohene Rapids in a long procession of
French carts and, as it was a pleasant time of year, gave opportunity
OLD BALDOON 81
to view the country and become somewhat acquainted with the quaint
plodding French inhabitants and their manners. At La Chene they
transferred to batteaux. Up to this time the journey had been compara-
tively easy. The men had not been called upon to exert themselves.
They now found that progress meant steady and never ceasing work.
Kingston was at last reached and the first experience in batteaux
was over. The next morning a little vessel, bound for Queenston,
awaited them. As they were ready to sail Selkirk came on board. He
had come by way of New York and hastened across the country to meet
and give cheerful news of the new home in the west. It took four days
to reach Queenston, and here they waited a few days to have the goods
transported by portage around the Falls of Niagara. You may imagine
their surprise at Niagara Falls as none had ever dreamed of their
grandeur. A safe distance above the falls they resumed the batteaux
and pulling slowly against the obstinate current wound their way to
Lake Erie skirting the shores until they reached Amherstburg and after
a short rest they came in open boats to Chenal Ecarte', landing early
in September, 1804. At last they had reached the home nestling under
the majestic elms.
One word in regard to the far-famed mysteries of Baldoon. Suffice it
to say there was nothing that could not have been done by a sleight-of-
hand performer. I have heard our grandfather say he watched closely
for some days, and although unable to see who did the tricks, for such
they were, he thought them the work of some one, either in spite or for
simple play on the credulity of those in the home.3
Scarcely had they set foot upon their new settlement, when mis-
fortunes overtook them. No proper provision had been made for their
reception. The ship carpenters and others sent in advance to prepare
cabins for their accommodation had decamped without accomplishing
their purpose. It is said they had run off to Sandwich for fear of the
Indians. Their position was terrible, their isolation complete. The
nearest inhabitants were on the "Thames," seventeen miles distant, and
accessible only by a devious trail, known to and attempted by few, across
the Plains via. Big Point and the higher ground to "Dolsen's." Lot No.
5 on the river Dover, west. To the north and east the forest stretched
unbroken. To the south and west extended the equally boundless St.
3The Baldoon mysteries here referred to were written up under the title of
The Belledoon Mysteries by Niel McDonald and read like a fairy tale. The un-
fortunate family which suffered from these manifestations was that of John Mc-
Donald, son of Daniel. A great deal of testimony was taken in proof of these
mysterious happenings of 1829-1830, but no plausible solution of the mystery was
ever found. In the neighborhood were a school teacher and two soldiers of Fort
Gratiot and When McDonald sought the protection of the law, these people dis-
appeared. Prom that time the annoyances were never again experienced. This
led many to attribute them to sleight of hand. Original letters and pamphlet men-
tioned above.
82 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Glair and the expansive Grand Marais. Exposed to the intolerable heat
of an August and September sun, to myriads of mosquitoes and poison-
ous insects, to the miasmatic vapors of a vegetable decaying soil and
neighboring fetid bogs, barely covered with tents or some other off-hand
and* nondescript shelter which eventually had been provided, they fell
sick with those dire diseases (malarial fever and dysentery) and no less
than forty-two out of their original number fell victims the first season
of their arrival.4
The particular spot at which these Highland Scottish. Israelites effect-
ed a landing into the Baldoon land of promise was at a point where
a "Sny" bends or cuts into the "farm" a little below and east of the
small creek which enters the former stream there. Here, was erected
shortly after the arrival of the settlers upon a knoll facing the "Sny"
about 100 yards or so distant therefrom, and at a point pretty correctly
marked by the old and solitary willow tree, the "Baldoon House" or
"Castle" a story and half structure, which stood for several generations,
and until the past few years, a well-known and historical landmark in
that vast expanse of prairie landscape. A longish house, steep roofed,
with a large verandah in front, at the ends of which and incorporated
within it, were built two small apartments used as storerooms or pan-
tries. From the "Castle" a row of cabins, which the Earl had erected
for the settlers who were to occupy the lands on the northwest side
of the farm, the eastern portion of the same on Bear Creek being re-
served for his private sheep, whose sheepfold lay near the stream and
whosej site is now, in 1881, bearing for Mr. Little of Wallaceburg, a very
heavy crop of onions. A little east and south of the "Castle" stood a
storehouse erected for the general benefit, and attached to which in log
hewn pens, were housed the horned cattle and barnyard animals. North
and slightly eastward and not far distant on another elevated knoll, lay
exposed to the summer's midday sun and the winter's northern blasts,
the little "God's acre" of the colony, a spot in which were laid to rest
for their long sleep, after their wearied journey over sea, after many
trials and grievous sickness, in the delirium of which they dreamed of
their beloved Scottish hillsides and homes, those of the pilgrim band,
fathers, mothers, children who died the year of their arrival.
No spot in the history of the settlements of the county is so replete
with associations of so sad and melancholy a character. The most
callous, the most unsympathetic, could scarce view that forlorn and neg-
lected spot without a tightening of the heart, a moistening of the eye.
Here, too, but at some distance and towards the gore or point, was
erected by Laughlin McDougall, probably with the Earl's consent, about
the termination of the War of 1812-1814, the old Windmill whose broad
4See letter of Selkirk to Lt. Gen. Peter Hunter, Feb. 1, 1805, Vol. XXIII, p. 433-4
this series.
OLD BALDOON 83
sail arms for many years formed a familiar and grateful guidepost for
wearied travelers and early navigators of the Chenal Ecarte' and Bear
Creek. Nor was the location devoid of interesting reminiscences of a less
sorrowful character. In the "Castle" in the year 1814, the American
General McArthur fed and feasted and maybe in company with his
more friendly Scottish brethren of Baldoon, whilst in the neighbor-
hood along the "Sny" and Bear Creek, bivouacked his rugged troopers.
So fed the same year Yankee Capt. Forsyth and his soldiers, less gen-
erous, however than the former, for it was he, not McArthur, that
plundered Baldoon of its sheep and cattle, the settlers of their stores,
and even the Earl of his dress and small clothes, which latter with a
marquee tent and other articles had been sent, in the early days of the
colony in anticipation of his Lordship's extended visit, and in which
garments Forsyth and his uncouth followers dressed and strutted to
their own admiration. Here, also, the Earl's successor, the Hudson Bay
trader Dr. John McNab and his squaw spouse, "kept hall" and watched
his flocks; and here, too*, lived, preceded him in occupation, and follow-
ing him next in possession, Indian Agent 'Squire William Jones. These
lands that knew the Earl now, know his family not. Settled under his
auspices a little in advance of, but concurrently with the lands on the
Red River5 of the North, the lands of Baldoon, which at one time gave
promise of a successful future, are now at best wettish meadows. The
Lands of Selkirk, or Red River are supporting a large, increasing popula-
tion, and sustain on the banks of the river of that name, in the city
of Winnipeg, a town of 12,000 inhabitants.
But in that year, by treaty dated 7th Sept., 1797, the principal chiefs,
warriors and people of the Chippewa Nation of Indians did, by an in-
strument under their picture signatures (totems) surrender and con-
vey unto His Majesty, King George III, for and in consideration of the
sum of eight hundred pounds (Quebec currency), value in goods, esti-
mated according to the Montreal price all and singular that tract of
land lying north of the Indian line and east of the St. Clair, in area
about twelve miles square, and comprising within its boundaries the
western portion of Chatham Gore above named, said instrument being
subscribed to by thirteen Chippewa Chiefs as principals, three Ottawa
chiefs as witnesses, four interpreters, six Indian and Western District
officials, and the representative of His Majesty, Alex. McKee, D. S. G.,
D. I. G., I. A.
"I shall be well satisfied to have you for one of my tenants, and the
terms proposed are such that you will find more for your advantage than
to take up a lot of land for yourself.
5Red River Settlement was made by Scotch and Irish in the fall of 1812. See
Selkirk Correspondence; Letter look of Captain Miles Macdonell, Canadian Arch-
ives, 1886, Note E.
84 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"It is my intention to let the farm of Baldoon, with the sheep and
other stock on shares, according to a plan which I have explained to
Mr. Clark, of Queenston.
"I am yours, &c.,
"Selkirk."
"To Lionel Johnson."
The reason for the abandonment of Baldoon by the greater part of the
settlers was primarily the rising of the waters. No doubt the cause so
often contributing to change of residence that is, the idea of bettering
our conditions, led some to go.
Mr. Angus McDonald, printer came to Michigan buying the land where
Algonac is now situated. Mr. J. K. Smith married Miss Catherine
McDonald and she lived to a good old age, in the Smith mansion, at
Algonac and was the mother of Abram Smith esquire of that place, Mr.
Samuel Lattee Smith of Detroit, Mr. Angus Smith of Milwaukee and
several elegant and accomplished daughters. One of the direct descend-
ants married a descendant of Cadillac. One is the wife of a Bishop,
while many married men who have risen to high positions in the Do-
minion of Canada. My grandfather Hugh McCallum was an only son
in a family of sisters whose father and mother died in one month after
reaching Baldoon ; of fine physique and good education he was, although
very young, a leader. He was a teacher, and as it is called in Canada, a
writer and was doing the work of a conveyancer and was the great
friend of all who trusted their business to him. At the breaking out of
the War of 1812 he volunteered, remaining all through the war. At
the siege of Detroit he was awarded a medal for gallantry, afterward
when many of the Baldoon people went to the Falls of Bear Creek he
followed. About two miles from Baldoon he surveyed and platted the
village and named it Wallaceburg, after the Scottish Chief Sir William
Wallace. He was the first postmaster and merchant. On the breaking
out of the Rebellion he raised a company and was made captain.
I have in my possession many letters written to my grandfather by
the Earl of Selkirk, his agents, surveyor-general, postmaster-general and
men prominent in law and business at that time, in Detroit, Sandwich
and Toronto, showing the difficulty of postal facilities or of obtaining
paper, postage and quills for pens.
I have also a number of articles, among them my great-grandmother's
Psalm Book in Gaelic brought by her from the Isle of Mull to Baldoon,
an arithmetic of my; Grandfather's and a book on navigation, that are
all over 100 years old. The Psalm Book was published in 1777. It is,
indeed, a far way from Scotland to Baldoon but who shall say that
the coming was vain or in any way to be regretted.
OLD FORT HOLMES 85
OLD FORT HOLMES1
BY PETER WHITE2
There is something about the magic words fort, fortress, fortification,
that attracts the attention and arouses the curiosity of most of us. To
those who have been permitted to live or travel in the region of the
Straits of Mackinac the words have a deeper meaning. A circle de-
scribed with its center on the Island of Mackinac and its diameter
reaching to the Soo will include more historic spots than any other
territory of equal size in the United States west of the Alleghany Moun-
tains.
Since 1679 there have always been stationed within this area detach-
ments of troops either under the flag of France, England or the United
States. The establishment of the palisaded fort at St. Ignace by La
Salle in 1679 under the name of Michillimackinac, from which floated
the Flag of France, its transfer to the south side of the Straits in 1712,3
where it was the scene of the Pontiac massacre in 1763, and its trans-
fer under the flag of England to the Island of Michillimackinac in 1780,4
still retaining its same name, its surrender to the U. S. in 1796, its
capture by the British, in 1812 to be again surrendered in 1815, and its
abandonment by the United States in 1895 are the connecting links in
the long chain of historic years. It is not my purpose to dwell on the
circumstances leading up to the building of the several forts or their
abandonment, but I wish in a few words to throw some light upon
the history of the grass grown moat and walls of old Fort Holmes,
now the property of the State of Michigan and under the control of the
Mackinac Island State Park Commission, of which I have the honor to
be the president.
After the close of the Revolution, or to be exact, in 1796, the forts and
posts along the Northwest frontier were surrendered, and under orders
fr,om the War Department, Uriah Tracy made a trip of inspection and
reported on their condition and needs. His letter which is on file in the
War Department in so far as it relates to this territory, reads as fol-
lows:
'Paper for the annual meeting, June, 1907, but not read owing to the illness
of Mr. White. This is the last of several valuable papers given by him to this
society.
2Por memoir of Peter White, see Vol. XXXVII, pp. 620-639.
3Late in the fall of 1712, Vaudreuil sent out Sieur de Lignery with three boats
to re-establish Fort Michilimackinac. When the fort was again mentioned it was
located on the south side of the strait. Vol. XXXIII, p. 571, this series, and
Early Mackinac by Meade C. Williams, p. 18.
transferred to the island: Correspondence relating to this will be found in
Vols. IX and X, this series.
86 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Washington, D. O., Dec. 20th, 1800.
Hon. Samuel Dexter, Sec. of War:
In consequence of your predecessor's request to visit the posts in the
Western territory, I proceeded to Plattsburg, and on to Port
Michillimackinac.
Our Fort at Michillimackinac from every consideration is one of the
most important posts we hold on our western frontier. It stands on
an island in the strait which leads from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron
four or five miles from the head of the strait. The fort is an irregular
work partly built with a strong wall and partly with pickets; and the
parade ground within it is from 100 to 125 feet above the surface of the
water. It contains a well of never failing water, a boom (bomb) proof
used as a magazine, one stone barracks for the use of the officers, equal if
not superior to any building of the kind in the United States: a good
guardhouse and barracks for soldiers and convenient storehouse for pro-
visions, etc., with three strong and convenient block houses. This post
is strong, both by nature and art, and the possession of it has great
influence with the Indians in favor of the United States. The whole
island on which the fort of Michillimackinac is situated belongs to
the United States and is five or six miles in length and two or three miles
in width. On the bank of the strait adjacent to the fort stands a large
house which was by the English called "Government House" and kept
by the British commandant of the fort which now belongs to the United
States.
The Island and country about it is remarkably healthy and very fertile
for so high a northern latitude.
(Signed)
URIAH TRACY.
The breaking out of the war of 1812 found the Fort garrisoned by only
fifty-seven soldiers, ignorant that war had been declared and consequently
wholly unprepared to defend itself. From the report of Capt. Roberts
commanding the British forces, we learn that he utilized the heights
above the fort for the mounting of his cannon and was able to force
immediate surrender of Fort Michillimackinac. In fact the Articles of
Capitulation are headed: "Heights Above Fort Michillimackinac."
We have not been able to find in any of the correspondence that any-
thing further was done upon these heights for over fifteen months. Capt.
Bullock, the commandant, in a letter to Noah Freer,5 Military Secretary,
Montreal, under date of Oct. 3, 1813, says, "Mr. Dickson6 (Indian agent)
and I have consulted together as to the means of defense for the security
of Michillimackinac and we are all of the opinion that a reinforcement
6See Vol. XVI, second edition, this series, note in appendix, p. 40.
See Vol. XVI, second edition, this series, note in appendix, p. 1.
OLD FORT HOLMES 87
of at least 200 men, with an officer of Engineers and twenty Artillery
men would be required; a stockaded block-house (with a well inside
stockade) would also be most essentially necessary to be built on an
height about 900 yards in rear of the fort. This height completely
commands the Fort and should an enemy with cannon once get posses
sion of it the fort must consequently fall.'7
His recommendations evidently bore fruit, as a letter to Gen. Drurn-
mond, dated July 17, 1814, signed R. McDonald (McDouall)7 says: "I
am doing my utmost to prepare for their reception (the American
forces). Our new works on the hill overlooking the old fort are nearly
completed and the blockhouses in the center will be finished this weekr
which will make this position one of the strongest in Canada. Its princi-
pal defect is the difficulty of finding water near it, but that obviated
and a sufficient supply of provisions laid in, no force that the enemy
can bring will be able to reduce it."
There is no evidence to show that it was used at the time of the battle
on the north side of the Island except as a reserve point.
Later, through a letter written to Capt. Bulger by Lieut. Col. Mc-
Douall, we learn that by the 1st of March, 1815, he says : "Fort George*
greatly improved and in a progressive state of improvement; the block-
house to be unroofed and lowered and the long gun mounted on a cir-
cular pivot, the ditch still more widened and deepened, and the glacis
raised to a height that will nearly cover the Fort. With immense labor
stores and magazines have been excavated in the hill close to the en-
trance of Fort George, and neatly finished, which are bomb proof, and
will hold all our provisions and valuables, a bakery now going on, also
undertanks for 400 bbls. of water, making in case we do- not find spring,
and the hill itself surrounded by an abattis of great extent. Depend
on it that the greatest difficulties insensibly diminish on being resolutely
encountered."
After Fort Michillimackinac was restored to the United States in
July, 1815, the name of the fort on the heights was changed to Fort
Holmes in honor of Major Andrew Hunter Holmes, who was killed
in the attempted recapture of the Fort a year before. It was garrisoned
for a few months, when it was abandoned and later the blockhouse was
taken down and used as a stable in front of Fort Michillimackinac.
Major Holmes9 was a Kentuckian, a very popular and gallant officer^
7McDouall. See Vol. XVI, second edition, this series, note in appendix, p. 27.
8This was called Fort George by the British as a compliment to their king.
9Maj. Holmes of the 32nd Regiment, was second in command in Col. George
Croghan's attack upon Mackinac in 1814. His body was sent to Detroit and was
buried in the old cemetery on the corner of Lamed street and Woodward avenue.
Later it was removed to the Protestant cemetery near Gratiot, Beaubien and
Antoine streets. Meade C. Williams in Early Mackinac says that he was a prom-
ising young Virginian and knew Thomas Jefferson. Heitman's Historical Register
and Dictionary of the United States Army states that he enlisted in Mississippi.
Annals of Fort Mackinac by Kelton, pp. 47, 51.
88 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and belonged to the 32nd Infantry. He was shot in five (5) places at
once.
Capt. C. Gratiot10 gives us some light on both forts in his letters and
also with the plan he made and forwarded at the time of his visit here in
1817. Writing from Detroit on Feb. 10th, 1816, he says: "Your letter
relating to Michillimackinac came safely to hand. The importance of its
possession has been fully demonstrated during the late war and it has
also proven that it has secured to those in possession an uninterrupted
intercourse with the Indian tribes residing on the borders of Lake Mich-
igan and the waters of the Illinois and Mississippi river. Had it not
fallen, as it did in 1812, the enemy never could have been able to call to-
gether such large bands of Indians as he kept engaged on the frontier
prior to the recapture of the country by Gen. Harrison; and it is also
well known that to the condition of these Indians the disasters which
attended our arms in these quarters may be attributed. Its geographical
situation is admirably fixed to intercept all intercourse between Lake
Huron and Lake Mich. Permanent possession of it by the government
ought, in my opinion, to be considered of immense importance for the
future safety of the whole northwest territory.'7
On the 25th of November, 1817, he writes as follows: "The present
work on the heights (Fort Holmes), the plan and section of which are
herewith enclosed, consists of a wooden blockhouse enclosed by a thin
rampart refitted with small pieces of timbers mounting four pieces of
traveling carriages.
"This work was thrown up by the English whilst in possession of the
Island during the late war as an important rallying point in case of
attack. Its dimensions, together with its construction, does not present
a sufficient defense to recommend its reconstruction in permanent ma-
terial.
"Fort Mackinac, a plan and section of which are also enclosed, re-
quires no further repairs than the renewal of its platform. This post
must necessarily be kept up as it is in the channel of communication
between Ft. Holmes and the harbor."
The following year Capt. Gratiot made a study of the fort and drew
up a complete plan for rebuilding Fort Holmes, which plan (consisting
"Charles Gratiot was born in Missouri in 1788 and died in St. Louis, May 18,
1855. He graduated at the United States military academy in 1806. He was chief
engineer of Harrison's army in 1813-14 when he was breveted colonel. He was
in the defense of Fort Meigs in 1813 and the attack on Fort Mackinac in 1814. In
1815 he was appointed major of engineers and steadily rose through the ranks.
In 1828 he was in charge of the Engineer Bureau of Washington, D. C. In May
of that year he was breveted brigadier general and was appointed inspector of
West Point. Dec. 6, 1838, he was dismissed by the President for having failed
to pay into the treasury money entrusted to him for public purposes. He was a
clerk in the land office in Washington from 1840-1855, when he died, destitute.
Fort Gratiot was named after him, also Gratiot villages in Wisconsin and Michi-
gan. Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography.
FORT MICHILIMACKINAC 89
of fifteen sheets) is now on file in the War Department. In 1820 the
buildings were used for other purposes and Fort Holmes became the
prey of the relic hunter. Three years ago when the Commission started
to create a park in front of Fort Mackinac, it was necessary to remove
the old buildings there and among them was the old blockhouse. The
timbers were saved and this spring the old building was restored to its
original position. The last legislature appropriated the sum of $800
toward the work of restoration. The War Department has kindly ar-
ranged to furnish guns of as near the pattern of that period as they
have and when all is completed we would ask and invite the Society to
hold a meeting within its historic walls.
FORT MICHILIMACKINAC
Old Fort Michilimackinac, (Mackinac) is known to more of the people
of these United States than any other fortification now standing. Its
snow-white walls have for 125 years attracted the attention of the pass-
ing voyager, and as he approached the shore below he marveled at the
strange picture on the heights above, the mixture of medieval and
modern. In these happy days of peace it is the Mecca of thousands of
visitors from every state of the Union and, although no bluecoated
sentinel meets one at its gates, the feeling of security is impressed as
soon as one passes over the drawbridge and enters the sally-port.
For over 230 years the name of Fort Michilimackinac has been known
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the most northern inhabited
point of this continent to the Gulf of Mexico. Ove.r its walls, in its
several locations, has floated the flags of France, England and the
United States. For its possession wars and intrigues have, up to the
close of the war of 1812, been going on. Indian massacre and starva-
tion have depleted the ranks of its brave defenders and could all the
records of councils of the Indians and the councils of the French and
English colonial departments become known, it would be found that
this post was considered of more value than any other two posts con-
trolled by the countries interested.
To the hardy French, with .their love of adventure, religous zeal and
trading instinct, we are indebted for the early exploration and final
settlement of this region. The traders, pushing out from the settle-
ments along the St. Lawrence River in small barques and batteaux,
manned by the half-breed inhabitants of that region, reinforced by
soldiers in search of fortune and renown, always had a member of the
Society of Jesus along with them. Starting out with sword in one
90 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
hand and the Bible and Cross in the other, they intended to form new
empires and expected to open and control, with the contents of one
Jiand or the other, the commerce and trade of the unexplored regions
beyond. Meager indeed were the facilities of transportation and com-
munication. Few members of these expeditions took the trouble to
record their adventures and from mere fragments of piecemeal journals,
the later day historian has not been able to give as concise a story as
we could wish. A correction to the above can be made in part when we
refer to the records of Marquette, La Salle and Joliet. In fact, it is to
the writings of these that we are able to form an idea of this region at
the time Fort Michilimackinac was established.
In 1671 Father Marquette had established a mission at St. Ignace and
had attracted to him the friendly Indians near there. La Salle came in
the year 1673, during the month of August, after a stormy passage up the
Lakes, in the barque Griffon in which he noted the woody cliffs of the
turtle-shaped Isle of Michilimackinac standing out in the clear air, a
guardian sentinel of the harbor of St. Ignace.
Anchor was cast in the little bay, now the busy scene of shipping and,
with many a salute, the entire party landed to offer up, in the little
rough chapel built some years before by Marquette, thanks for their
safe voyage. La Salle found a palisaded fort built and occupied by the
friendly Hurons. After the religious ceremonies were over the trading
spirit was pre-eminent and La Salle was able to secure from the country
around a cargo of furs. The Griffon, under the command of the pilot
set sail, it being the intention of those on board to return the following
spring with fresh supplies and rigging for another boat. But in her
passage down the lakes, she somewhere was struck by one of those
September storms common to this region even to this day, and found an
unknown grave. La Salle remained and built the first Fort Michilimack-
inac, overlooking the Bay of St. Ignace, where he had cast anchor a
short time before. On a tall staff at the gate floated the flag of France.
From this time on trade flourished and in 1694 Cadillac11 came with
a detachment to strengthen the fort and protect the increasing number
of traders. At this time it was looked upon as one of the strategic points
and to conciliate all parties was the immediate task Cadillac found
before him. Under successive commandants a garrison was kept here,
but the government of New France desiring to make the settlement at
Detroit the center of the fur trade offered such inducements as to cause
most of the friendly Indians to migrate there followed by the ever-
present trader. A settlement having grown up on the south side of the
Straits ,the fort was moved over there in 1712 and the flag of France
again raised over its walls. Thus was established the second Fort Mich-
ilimackinac.
"See Vol. XXXIII, p. 72, this series.
FORT MICHILIMACKINAC 91
With the surrender of Canada and its dependencies after the battle of
the Plains of Abraham, the province of Michilimackinac and the fort
was transferred to England and the French domain in this region was
extinguished forever. The Indians did not take well to the new garrison.
The English traders were not as liberal in their dealings as the French
had been and one complaint brought on another. Wampum belts were
circulated and when, early in 1763, they found that in truth their
French father had ceded them to the English King, their indigna-
tion was boundless. Messengers were sent from one tribe to another
and it was resolved that upon a set day attacks should be made simul-
taneously upon the English forts.12 June 4 was the birthday of the
English King and in honor of the day the Chippewa Indians offered
to play a game of ball with the Sacs outside the gates of the fort. The
offer was accepted and that the garrison and traders could see the
game the gates of the fort were left open and all were free to enter.
A vast crowd had assembled and during the game the ball was pur-
posely thrown over the stockade into the fort. In an instant 300 scream-
ing savages were crowding through the gates into the Fort, drawing
their tomahawks and filling the air with their war cries. But few
of the garrison and inhabitants were saved and the trials and suffer-
ings of the survivors were such as to keep others away from the place
for a few years. The fort was without a garrison until 1767 and dur-
ing the early years of the Revolution the walls were strengthened and
the garrison added to. But fearful of attack by the forces of the United
States, Major De Peyster, in November, 1779, sent over men and sup-
plies to the Island of Michilimackinac for the erection of the third Fort
Michilimackinac.
It was first occupied by the English troops on the 15th of July, 1780.
While the fort was not completed at that time, enough had been done
on it to make it safe from surprise and to serve as a good depot for
supplies. The walls with the blockhouses were built and buildings for
the officers and men were erected as fast as the material was ready.
After the close of the Revolution the surrender of this fort to the United
States was the subject of much correspondence and it was not turned
over until 1796.
Until the opening of the war of 1812 it was occupied by a small de-
tachment of United States troops and, when the British forces came
down from St. Joseph's Island on the 17th of July, 1812, demanding
and receiving its surrender, they found only fifty-seven men, including
officers, in the garrison. Porter Hanks, the commanding officer, in his
official report to General Hull, calls attention to the small garrison and
to the fact that the opposing force was from 900 to 1,000 strong, the
12Pontiac's war. See Vol. XIX, this series, second edition.
92 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
greater part of whom were savages. Again the Flag of England was
floating over the walls of Fort Michilimackinac. The British at once
set in to add to the defences of the island and, when the forces of the
United States, under the command of Colonel Croghan and Major
Holmes, attempted its capture, they were defeated and the greater part
of the attacking force with Major Holmes were killed. No other attempt
was made to effect its capture and, after the war was over, it was sur-
rendered to the forces of the United States and was the last place occu-
pied by the British troops and the final act of the drama. The Stars
and Stripes were raised on the 18th day of July, 1815, and have ever
since floated from the walls. Although the garrison was removed in
1895, it is still kept up ready to defend the liberties and rights of the
people of the land of the free and the sunrise and sunset guns awake
the peaceful retreats of this Fairy Isle.
Today we have the same walls, blockhouses and buildings that were
erected years ago. There are but five original blockhouses of that period
standing in the United States and we have three of them here, grim
remainders of the days of savage warfare. The old stone quarters built
and used as officers' quarters since 1780 are standing and, with the
care given them, will stand for 125 years longer. The old sally-ports,
with the attendant drawbridge and portcullis, call attention to the days
when the foe most dreaded was near at hand.
Three forts and three flags are all within sight of each other and
to-day the ruins of the other two forts can be traced in the crumbling
Avails at St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS1
BY MISS LUCY BALL
In 1836 my father, John Ball,2 was practicing law in Troy, New York.
It was a year when conservative eastern capitalists speculated wildly
in western government lands. Some of father's friends, knowing his
love of travel, proposed to him that he take their capital west and
buy and sell land on speculation. Father readily accepted the offer.
He left Troy July 31st, 1836, in company with a Mr. William Mann.
They crossed New York state by railroad to Utica then by the Erie
Canal to Buffalo; from there they went by steamboat to Toledo and
Detroit. It took them one week to make the journey. They found cor-
JRead at the annual meeting, June 27, 1907.
2See biographical sketch, Vol. VII, pp. 496-509, this series.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 93
ner lots in Detroit too high to promise any advance, so they took the
steamboat for Monroe. Father had a letter of introduction from the
Hon. Job Pierson,3 a representative of New York state from the Troy
District, to the Hon. Austin E. Wing, delegate from the Territory of
Michigan, and a resident of Monroe. Monroe at that time claimed to
be the business place for all the south part of the state with the best
kinds of prospects for growth ; but they decided to go on to Toledo, and
also went up the Maumee River to Maumee and Perrysburg, but
could not decide to make any purchases. On returning to Monroe, Mr.
Mann was taken ill, so, leaving him behind, father determined to investi-
gate government lands that were still to be had in Hillsdale county.
In looking over father's papers I find a copy of a letter he sent at
that time to Mr. Mann. There is no date on it but it was probably writ-
ten the last part of August, 1836. His first impressions are so original
that I will make copious extracts from this paper. There are no entries
for the first and second days when he was in Lenawee county.
The memorandum begins thus :
"Third day of Departure: Having fallen in with a Mr. Treat of New
York State, going to Jonesville to see a land agent and get land, etc.,
and finding so poor a chance in Lenawee, I resolved to go to Hillsdale,
but on Sunday morning the stage was so full and they went on and left
us. But we got onto a load of oats and went as far as Springville,
twelve miles, and stopped.
"Fourth Day: First stage full but an extra carried us to Jonesville
over hill and by lake, much poor land. My New York companion did
not find his agent and was all up a tree.
"Fifth Day : Hired a horse, rode seven miles into T. 6 S. R. 2 W., found
a young man that knew the lay of the land, having ranged much. Left
my horse, sallied out with him four miles through wood marsh and
into a tamarack swamp and there we found the two vacant lots we
were in search of, not two inches good land on them.
"Sixth Day : Took horses, went into T. 8 S. R. 2 W., to a Mr. Bird's,
the only settler in the town ; left horses and went into T. 7 S. R. 3 W.,
and looked at three lots; these some better, though not good, returned,
slept in same room with men, women, etc.
"Seventh Day: Started out early, could not find line, so dark, and
in half an hour came on to rain hard, came back dripping, laid by till
it broke away in P. M., and then went out in wet bush in T. 8 S. R. 2 W.,
and traveled six or seven miles, saw three lots not worth seeing; came
in wet and disheartened.
"Eighth Day: Good weather, went into T. 8 S. R. 3 W., and ranged
3Job Pierson, one of the first board of directors of the Bank of the City of Troy,
elected July 10, 1833.
94 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
over land through briars and brambles; came back, took horses and
came to young man's house.
"Ninth Day: Came early into Jonesville, turned shirt, (to those
acquainted with father's immaculateness in personal attire this shows
the situation truly desperate), and got your letter, it did me good to
learn you were better but found myself quite in the fog to know what
next to do, wish ! how much I was with you to see if we could not
unravel something. The offices are closed, the land poor and our funds
too low for even them."
The tenth day found Mr. Ball at Jonesville. His discouragement and
embarrassment were complete. "Thought of going to the Grand River
country, or the Indiana, or the Lord knows where,'7 but finally, on
learning that the offices were closed so there was no buying the lands
"they perhaps would not want" and further that specie was only ac-
cepted he resolved to return by stage to Monroe, but found that the
stage was full. Still by breakfast time an empty wagon came along
so he jumped in and came to within four miles of Tecumseh.
"Eleventh Day: Came on to Tecumseh and then was dropped again
and found another chance to Monroe, but conceive my surprise and
disappointment at finding that you had departed without leaving any
word. Yes, they said you did say something but they knew not what.
It was cursed provoking I will assure you.
"Twelfth Day: Went with Mr. Bukly (Buckley4) out south on a
fine pony to see the country; found it better than I had expected. Is
not a lot with a house and thirty acres improved, at $1,000, a good
purchase?
"Thirteenth Day: Lounged, etc.
Fourteenth Day: Lounged and talked at night to Mr. Richard Mann,
who came in from Toledo, thought strange not to find you with me.
"Fifteenth Day: Went about the place with Richard Mann.
"Sixteenth Day: Rode out with Mann to see the country, purchased
two farms of three hundred and twenty acres." (This purchase in
Monroe proved to be a losing venture.)
The memorandum then gives a description of various pieces of land
in T. 7 and 8 S. R. 3 W., being the south part of Hillsdale County.
He then adds :
"The above I have seen, yes, and many more that the devil would
flee from; no real good ones are left us; besides I have information on
which I can rely that the E. % of the S. E. %, Sec., 7 T. 7 S. R. 2 W.,
is better than any I have seen, except no water, and if I take it up must
4This is undoubtedly Gershom Taintor Buckley who was born at Colchester,
Conn., March 8, 1780, removed to Williamstown, Mass., when a young man, was
in the war of 1812 and was commissioned major of cavalry. In 1836 he moved
to Monroe. In 1844 he was appointed register of the United States land office.
He died at Monroe on Oct. 16, 1862. Wing's History of Monroe Co., pp. 311-312.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 95
pay $2 for they were to sell it to another man. And the N. W. % of
Sec. 34, in same township, may not be taken though they say a man has
gone after it. It has timber and is well worth taking as any left, they
say, and I rely upon it.
"Should the best that I have described be taken, let the whole go
to the bugs, for all I care, still I leave the whole to your judgment."
Mr. Ball arrived in Detroit after this trip the twelfth day of Septem-
ber.
Quite disheartened he returned to Troy. His friends were not at all
discouraged and sent him back. A land office had been opened in Ionia
for the sale of the lands in the Grand River Valley, and he was told
to try his luck there. He returned to Detroit October 1st, bought a
horse and started for Kalamazoo by the territorial road. He found
company in eastern friends until he reached Kalamazoo, and on the
suggestion that they continue with him to Ionia they said that they
would not risk their lives and health in any such enterprise, so alone
he turned northward, spending the first night at Yankee Springs, where
Mr. Lewis had a log cabin. My father in common with all the travelers of
that day always paid a glowing eulogy to the hospitality he received at
Yankee Lewis' Tavern. Mrs. Lewis had the best of suppers, and there
was the biggest of fires in the fire place to welcome the hungry traveler.
The next day he stopped at Mr. Leonard's on the Thornapple, night
brought him at Mr. Daniel Marsac's at Lowell. Following the Indian
trail he reached Ionia the next day. Ionia at that time consisted of a
half dozen houses, the land office and a tavern. After studying the
maps at the land office he started for Grand Rapids, arriving there Oct.
18th, 1836.
He described Grand Rapids at that time as being inhabited by half
French people, who had followed Louis Campau, and half speculators,
like himself, and a very lively little place. Mr. Louis Campau's house
situated where the Widdicomb Building now stands, and Richard God-
frey's5 house, standing on the site of the Aldrich Block, were the most
pretentious houses. There were a few small houses on Waterloo, now
Market street, and warehouses on the river. The Eagle Tavern was the
only hotel; the Bridge Street House was just started. There were also
a few houses north of Monroe street, but lots were selling at fifty
dollars a foot on Canal and Kent streets, so father thought it no place
to speculate in, and immediately started for the woods, locating and
purchasing lands in Allegan and Barry counties.
I can not tell all of his adventures in locating land, but one of his
trips was in Ottawa county. He and Mr. Anderson started from Ionia,
"Richard Godfrey. Mr. Godfrey's house was burned and two women burned
in it. See sketch of Godfrey, Vol. VI, pp. 331-2, this series; Kent Co. History,
p. 821.
96 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL, COLLECTIONS
spending the night in Grand Rapids, and before breakfast the next
morning went to Grandville. They went to the house of Mr. Charles
Oakes, who protested that he could not feed them though he would care
for their horses while they went into the woods, but after some urging
Mrs. Oakes got them a scanty breakfast. I want to say a word right
here of Mrs. Charles Oakes.* Her father was an Indian trader by the
name of Boliou of Mackinaw Island. He had married an Indian wife
and they had two daughters, who were carefully educated in Mr. W.
M. Ferry's mission.6 One daughter married Mr. Charles Oakes of Boston
and the other a Danish gentleman by the name of Borup. Mr. Charles
Oakes was connected with the Grandville Company that laid out and
platted Grandville, being one of the first settlers there. Both families
went from there to the Upper Peninsula and afterwards settled in St.
Paul,, and became very wealthy and their descendants are still living in
that city. This Mrs. Oakes has translated a number of beautiful Indian
legends and songs which are to be found in Schoolcraft's "Algic Re-
searches."
But to continue the story of this trip:
They were sent on to Rush Creek where a sawmill was being built,
and Mr. Boynton7 kept a boarding house, to get supplies to take into
the woods. Mrs. Boynton had no bread for them, and they were forced
to wait while she baked them a loaf of unleavened bread, so with this
and some raw beef they started to locate some pine lands of which Mr.
Anderson had a memorandum.
They started due west on the section line, and after walking all day,
did not find their pine lands, so roasting their beef by the fire, they
rolled themselves in their blankets and lay down to sleep as best they
could, though the howling of the wolves and the tramping of the deer
could be heard all around them. The next day, on going a little farther,
they came into a dense forest of beautiful pine and spent the day try-
ing to learn its extent. They slept that night without their supper,
saving the little they had left for breakfast. They continued their pros-
pecting the next morning but warned by their failing strength they
started north thinking to find a road between Grand Haven and Grand-
*Mrs. Oakes was Julia Beaulieu or Boliou as it was sometimes spelled. Her
sister Elizabeth married Mr. Borup. Charles H. Oakes was one of the early promi-
nent traders among the Ojibways, who commenced in opposition to the Astor Fur
Co., but was soon bought out and engaged by that company. See Minnesota His-
torical Collections, Vol. V, pp. 384-5. Mrs. Oakes' Indian name, as found in the
Treaty of Aug. 5, 1826, is Teegaushau. McKenney's Tour of the Lakes, p. 484.
For biographical sketch of both men, see History of St. Paul, Minn., Biography,
pp. 38 and 210.
"See Ottawas' Old Settlers, Vol. XXX, p. 573; Vol. IX, p. 238, this series.
7There were three Boyntons, Nathan, Jerry and William. Nathan came first in
1836 and started to build a log house but falling ill he returned to Grandville in
August and asked his brothers to finish it for him. This they did. See History
of Kent Co., pp. 205, 236, 242.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 97
ville. They did strike an Indian trail and some Indians, whom they
tried to induce to take them up the river in their canoes, but the Indians
were going on a hunting expedition and the silver dollars offered were
no inducement to them. So they footed it the best they could and night
overtook them again before they reached the settlement. The next morning
found them near Grandville, and fortunately there was a supply of food,
to which, after being out three days on one day's rations, they did
ample justice.
A little later Mr. Ball returned and located 2,500 acres of pine land.
These pine lands had oak openings, and there grew the largest oak that
was even seen in Michigan. It was seven feet in diameter and had
a clean trunk about seventy feet high with a beautiful spreading top.
It was cut down and sent east for navy purposes.
The winter of 1836 and '37 was an open one and was spent by Mr.
Ball in camp or on horseback. He explored through the counties of
Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon. At one time he went down the Grand
River in a sleigh to Grand Haven and there made the acquaintance of
Mr. W. M. Ferry, Mr. Luke White and Mr. T. D. Gilbert, lifelong friends.
In the spring of '37 he was poled down the Grand River by Capt. Sibley8
and his men, and walked up the beach to Muskegon where he found
the Indian traders, Mr. Joseph Troutier9 and Mr. William Lasley.10
8This was undoubtedly Ebenezer Sproat Sibley who had from 1830 been inter-
ested in the roads which were then being built through the forests. In 1830 he
was superintendent for construction of the road from Detroit to Chicago and in
1833, the Saginaw road. In 1838 he was delegated to pay the Grand River Indians
their annuity and Charles H. Oakes witnessed the pay rolls. Col. Sibley was born
in Marietta, Ohio, June 6, 1805. His father was Solomon Sibley and his mother
Sarah Sproat. They came to Detroit shortly after this. Ebenezer graduated from
West Point, served under Gen. Scott in the Black Hawk war and commanded
troops under Brady in the Patriot war. In the Mexican war he served on the
staff of Gen. Taylor as assistant quartermaster and was breveted major for his
gallantry at the battle of Buena Vista. He was on duty at Port Leavenworth
when on account of ill health he resigned and returned to Detroit, 1864. He
married twice; his first wife, Harriet L. Hunt, was the daughter of Judge Hunt
of Washington, D. C.; the wedding occurred in Detroit, May, 1831, at the home
of Gen. Charles Larned and is described by Friend Palmer in "Early Days in
Detroit." His second marriage occurred March 23, 1843, at Savannah, when he
married Maria A. Cuyler, daughter of Judge Cuyler of that city. He died Aug.
13, 1884, leaving two sons, Frederick T. and Henry S. Sibley. See Historical
Register and Directory of United States Army; Detroit Free Press, Aug. 14, 1884 >
Detroit Daily Advertiser, April 11, 1843; Michigan Courier, May 29, 1833; Early
Days in Detroit ~by Palmer; Cullum's Biographical Register of Officers and Gradu-
ates of West Point.
"Joseph Troutier was the second settler on Muskegon. lake. He was born in
Mackinac, Aug. 9, 1812, and resided there until coming to Muskegon in 1835. He
traded with the Indians and in 1836 assisted in forming the treaty by which the
Indians gave up the lands lying north of the Grand river. Memorials of Grand
River Valley, pp. 436-7.
10William Lasley was of French origin, born in Pennsylvania. He early went
to Mackinac and settled in Muskegon in 1835, trading with the Indians In 1852
he sold his mill and retiring from business died in 1853. He married Louise
Constant, "Lisette," daughter of Pierre Constant and an Indian woman. She lived
to be quite aged in Oshkosh, Wis. They had a son, Henry S. Lasley, a prominent
merchant of Montague, Muskegon Co. Memorials of Grand River Valley, pp. 437,
525.
13
98 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The former had a clerk, Martin Ryerson,11 who afterwards became the
millionaire lumberman. On returning to Grand Haven, he came back
in a log canoe. Paddling up the river in a log canoe is not the most
enjoyable way of navigation, and he got off at Mr. Yeomans',12 the only
settler on the river below Grandville, stopped there over night and
footed it the rest of the way.
In the spring of 1837, Mr. Ball took up his residence permanently
in Grand Rapids, boarding at the Eagle Tavern, which was then kept
by Louis Moran.13 He was obliged to make many trips to Detroit to
change his notes and drafts into specie as President Jackson had de-
creed that only specie could be exchanged for Government land. He
took this trip in as many different ways as was possible, the two princi-
pal ones being either by Battle Creek on the territorial road, or by the
northern route, as it was called, which from Detroit brought the
traveler the first day to Kingston, the next to Mr. Williams'14 on the
Shiawassee, the next to Mr. Scotts'15 on the Looking Glass, these being
the only settlers in Shiawassee and Clinton counties. At one time he
stopped at Mr. Edward Robinsons'16 who lived in a log house a mile
below Ada. He had a baker's dozen of children but still welcomed the
traveler to his small quarters.
This continued travelling soon made him well known to all the isolated
settlers in Michigan. It was also known that in politics he was a Demo-
crat or Jackson man, having first voted for Andrew Jackson in 1824.
In the fall of 1837 Governor Mason was up for re-election and Mr. Ball
was nominated on the same ticket for State Representative for the un-
organized counties of Ottawa, Kent, Ionia and Clinton. I find among
father's papers a curious old dodger gotten out by Mr. Mason's opponent,
"Martyn Ryerson was born near Paterson, N. J., Jan. 6, 1818. In 1834 he came
to Michigan, reaching Grand Rapids in September. He was soon in the employ
of Richard Godfrey, and in 1836 (May) he went to Muskegon in the employ of
Joseph Troutier. In 1841 he went into the milling business. In 1851 he moved
to Chicago where he remained the rest of his life. Memorials of Grand River Val-
ley, pp. 437-9.
12Erastus Yeomans and his family came to Ionia county in the spring of 1833.
See sketch, Vol. VI, p. 303, this series.
13The Moran family were of French extraction, coming to Detroit soon after
Cadillac. The homestead was on Woodbridge St., and was demolished only a few
years since. Louis went to Grand Rapids in 1833 to work for Louis Campau. He
kept a tavern at Scales Prairie and then moved to Grand Rapids in the Eagle, a
log tavern very primitive, the beds being of prairie grass called prairie feathers.
In 1837 he met with reverses and cheerfully became a teamster. After his fath-
er's death he acquired considerable property. He married a daughter of Judge
May.
"Alfred L. Williams purchased of the government in August, 1831, and settled
upon it soon after. John I. Tinklepaugh was the first settler and farmer who
brought his family with him into this country. See Vol. II, p. 479, this series;
Histo/y of Shiawassee County, Vol. XXXII, p, 247, this series.
15Capt. David Scott, see vol. V, pp. 325-326, this series.
10Edward Robinson was one of seven brothers, one of them, Rix Robinson. He
came to Michigan upon the advice of his brother Rix, bringing his family with
him, in a party of forty-two persons. See sketch of Rix Robinson, Vol. XI, p. 186,
this series.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 99
Mr. Trowbridge, in which the settlers on government land were warned
that they would be arrested if Mason was re-elected; it reads as fol-
lows :
SETTLERS
BEWARE !
Conrad Ten Eyck, U. S. Marshal, left Detroit yesterday for
the Grand River Country, for the pretended object of election-
eering for Stevens T. Mason. It is well known here that his
real object is to arrest the Settlers on the Government lands.
Be on your guard, he has a large lot of blank capias, and after
the election, every Settler will be brought to Detroit.
Daniel Goodwin Esq., U. S. District Attorney, was seen on
Saturday several times with Ten Eyck. Some forty or fifty
persons have already been arrested by Mr. Titus, one of Ten
Eyck's deputys !
Gov. Mason has no doubt been advised by Ten Eyck of this
movement. Settlers, are you willing to be dragged from your
homes and brought three hundred miles, at this season? If you
are not, Beware — beware of Conrad Ten Eyck, U. S. Marshal,
and Silas Titus, his deputy.
Ten Eyck is the same man who has tried to rob the state of
|13,000, for the passage of the rail-road across his fa inn. If
Trowbridge is elected he cannot get it. He will dupe you and
then arrest you. Mark him well.
Detroit, Oct. 30, 1837.
The only polling place for Ottawa County was Grand Rapids. Seventy
men came down the river on a steamboat and marched in line to the
polls. Father received 397 votes out of the 505 cast. He was the third
representative from the district after the organization of the state gov-
ernment, the first being Maj. Roswell Britton from Grandville, Judge
John Almy of Grand Rapids, being the second.
It was in the middle of the summer before Grand Rapids began to
feel the effects of the great financial panic of 1837. It was so far away
from the center of civilization that it was several months before it felt
the depression that was effectiijg the eastern cities. When it came time
for Mr. Ball to take up his duties in Detroit he practically had no busi-
ness to leave behind him for buying and selling of land had ceased. So
all he had to do was to put his effects in a saddle-bag and mount his
horse. He left Grand Rapids December 15th arriving in Detroit the
23d. He put up at the old National Hotel, where the Russell House
now stands. (The Pontchartrain in 1911). At first he had a room to
himself, but as the hotel grew more crowded he was requested by the
100 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
landlord to receive a roommate. It proved to be Mr. Barry, afterwards
Governor Barry. This incident had a bearing on the growth of Mich-
igan as will be seen later.
The sessions were held in the old Territorial Hall. Mr. S. K. Bingham
was made the speaker of the house. The Democratic party was in ma-
jority both in the senate and the house. Their first work was a con-
tinuation of the revision of the laws started by the previous legisla-
ture. This was a period in our state history when there was state
ownership of the railroads.17 The previous legislature had authorized
a state loan of five million dollars for internal improvements, and its
first use of this money was to purchase the Detroit and St. Joseph Rail-
road that obtained its charter from the territorial government in 1832.
Only thirty thousand dollars had been expended on it.
The legislature then took up the work of appropriating money to the
three roads and two canals that were to cross the State. They started
the survey for these roads, and much time was consumed by contesting
claims of aspiring villages on the different lines. The line to go through
the central tier of counties would have been glad to have monopolized
the whole. That everything was not smooth may be seen from the fol-"
lowing memorial, which I found among Mr. Ball's papers.
"To the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives
of the State of Michigan :
Gentlemen : — As a reply to the many and varied assertions of
interested persons, that we are opposed to the Southern Rail-
road, we distinctly state, that as delegates from Niles and that
portion of Berrien County on the Northern Survey, we, and
those we represent, will go as far to sustain the integrity of
the Southern Railroad, established by the Legislature, as any
person or persons can, having at heart the best interests of the
State, her well known policy, and the views of her citizens.
Respectfully,
JACOB BEESON"
ERASMUS WINSLOW
JOSEPH N. CHIPMAN"19
The name of the Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad was changed to the
Michigan Central^ and had progressed as far as Ypsilanti. The following
is an invitation to the legislators to take a ride to Ypsilanti but on their
return there was an accident some two or three miles out of Detroit
and they had to foot it in.
"It was not until 1846 that Michigan had sold out the last of its railroads to
private corporations. Michigan as a Province, Territory and State, Vol. III.
"Jacob Beeson was receiver of the land office of Detroit, 1861-1865, and presi-
dent of the Board of Trade in 1875. See sketch, Vol. VIII, p. 23, this series.
"Joseph N. Chipman. See sketch, Vol. XVII, p. 395, this series.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 101
"Office of Internal Improvement 1
Detroit, Feb. 2, 1838. J
i /
Sir: — The Commissioners of Internal Improvement respect-
fully invite you to take a seat in the cars, which will leave the
Depot at the Campus Martius to-morrow morning, at ten o'clock,
for Ypsilanti.
By order of the Board.
To Mr. J. Ball. J. BURDICK, President."
0
I find still another invitation at this same period, which I will also
give:
''Railroad Ball
The managers respectfully solicit the Company of Mr. John
Ball and Lady at Mr. J. A. Collier's Hotel, in Dearborn, on
Thursday, 15th March, 1838, at 6 o'clock, P. M.
Managers.
Wm. Ten Eyck A. B. Gibbs
E. D. Lord H. S. Levake
A. H. Howard J. L. Ankrim
Detroit, March 12, 1838.
The Locomotive and Car Governor Mason, will be in readi-
ness, at 5 o'clock, to convey the Company to the House."
These three railroads projected at that time by the State Legislature
afterwards passed into the hands of private corporations and became our
Southern Michigan, Michigan Central and Grand Trunk roads. I must
not forget to add that thirty thousand dollars was laid aside to im-
prove the navigation of the Grand and Maple rivers.
Mr. Ball was on the committee on education; the laws establishing
the schools and University of Michigan had been passed in the first State
legislature and there were many petitions for using the educational fund
for sectarian colleges and schools, to which he was much opposed. The
state library was already begun, and I find among his papers the report
of Mr. O. Marsh,20 the librarian, and the list of books that had been
purchased by an appropriation of $2,000.
The organizing of townships took up considerable time. The number
of townships was quadrupled in Mr. Ball's district, and Grand Rapids
was incorporated as a village. It was this winter that the Canadian
Patriot War21 occurred that helped to bring emigrants to Michigan.
^Orin Marsh. See Vol. XXXVI, pp. 621-629, this series, letters, sketch and
portrait.
"Patriot war. See paper by Levi Bishop, Vol. XII, p. 414, and by Robert Ross,
Vol. XXI, p. 509, this series.
102 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
General Scott came to .Detroit on business connected with this war on
a steamboat during a January thaw. That thaw occasioned a great
flood in Grand Rapids, quite as large if not larger than anything it
has experienced in these days.
The Legislature did not adjourn until April 7th. Mr. Ball sold
his horse and returned in a wagon to Grand Rapids in company with
Mrs. O'Flynn, Mrs. Watson and Miss Lucy Genereau,22 (John Godfrey's
first wife), ladies well-known in pioneer days. The passage took them
six days, but they had such a good social time that the journey
did not seem long. On arriving home he found things sadly
changed, Grand Rapids was no longer the lively little place he
found when he first went there. A blight had fallen on Michigan, its
lands and its finances were at a discount, for this was the time of
wildcat banking. The People's Bank of which Mr. Louis Campau be-
came president, had commenced operations, but not having the required
specie on hand when the bank commissioner called, this commissioner,
Mr. D. V. Bell, after giving them a month's grace to raise the funds,
put it in the hands of a receiver, appointing Mr. Ball. The summer
was passed in winding up that business. He made but one trip at that
time and that was to Port Sheldon,23 a village that was started by Phila-
delphians and was expected to outrival Grand Rapids. Everyone was
leaving Grand Rapids that had money enough to get away. Mr. Ball
went east to visit but returned for he was in love with Michigan and
thought that there was no more beautiful site in that State than at
Grand Rapids.
The United States Congress of 1841 offered to new Western States
five hundred thousand acres of land to be used for internal improvements.
Michigan gladly accepted this offer in its next session. Mr. Barry was
then governor, and knowing Mr. Ball and his experience as a woods-
man, he asked him to select some lands in the southwestern part of the
State. Mr. Ball had hardly enough business in his law practice at that
time to prevent him from accepting the offer, which he gladly did,
happy for a chance to get into the woods again. He asked the gov-
ernor for some advice as to whether he should make these selections
near the settlements or down the lake, and whether they should be farm-
ing or pine lands. He answered that he would leave it entirely to his
judgment. He started out exploring, taking Frederick Hall,24 of Ionia,
with him and James Lyon, son of Judge Lyon of Grand Rapids. On
his first trip he explored the eastern part of Ottawa County, north of
KLucy Genereau (Genereux) was the first wife of John F. Godfrey, son of
Gabriel and Betsy May Godfrey. She was one-quarter Indian and educated by
Louis Campau and wife.
2SSee Vol. XXVIII, p. 527, this series.
24Frederick Hall was register of deeds in Ionia county in 1843-4. He died
about 1884. See sketch, Vol. Ill, p. 489, this series.
EARLY DAYS IN GRAND RAPIDS 103
Grand River. He found most of it first class beech and maple lands.
Then he made a trip to the Muskegon river to see the prairies near
Croton, but found them only pine plains. He then struck Flat river and
explored around where Greenville now is. Luther Lincoln25 and sou
were then the only inhabitants of Montcalm county. He also explored
as far as the Pere Marquette river, following the Indian trail to Muske-
gon Lake, where he found one sawmill and a half dozen houses. Swim
ming his pony across the head of the lake after a boat, and doing the
same at White Lake, where Mr. Charles Mears20 was the only settler,
he struck the lake shore at the Clay Banks, where he found Indian
planting grounds. He returned by an inland route, and thought this
trip one of the hardest he had ever made.
After giving a good deal of thought to the matter he decided to report
sections of land nearest the settlements. This was opposed by some
people, they fearing the State would hold the price of these lands so
high that it would impede immigration, but Mr. Ball reasoned that the
State's indebtedness was so widely diffused among its inhabitants that
enough pressure would be brought to bear upon the legislature to put
the lands on the market at a reasonable price. The result showed that
his opinion was good. He selected nearly four hundred thousand acres
of the five hundred thousand of improvement lands. He made his selec-
tions rie^r the settlements and it resulted as he anticipated. The legis-
lature of 1843 passed a law putting the price of these lands at $1.2.".
They were payable in State dues, which at first could be bought at
forty cents on the dollar.
The settlers who had previously "squatted" as it was then called, on
the lands that had been purchased from the Indians north of the Grand
River by the Washington treaty of 1830, and that were surveyed in 1839,
had remained with fear and trembling that they might lose their im-
provements.
Most of them were too poor to purchase their farms at that time and
some of them even raised money at 100 per cent to do so. But they
now saw their advantage and came to Mr. Ball to select their lands
though at first they wrere afraid he might select them.
Mr. Ball had to receive his pay, too, in State warrants, which was
unexpected by him, and on his complaining to Governor Barry he was
answered that the law provided only such funds for that purpose, and
23Luther Lincoln and his son, a boy about twelve years old, lived near the junc-
tion of the Flat river and Black creek, where he built a mill. He was eccentric
and before his death his mind was clouded for several years. His son went to
Kent county after his father's death and was killed by lightning. Montcalm and
Ionia Counties, p. 473.
26Charles Mears was born in Massachusetts in 1814 and took up this claim in
1837, engaging in the lumber business with his brothers. In 1850 he left Michigan
and in 1875 moved to Chicago. See sketch in History of Chicago by Andreas, Vol.
II, p. 692.
104 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
that he should have noticed the provision of the law before. The gov-
ernor suggested that he indemnify himself by making some good pur-
chases with what funds he had. These lands were first offered for sale
in August, 1843, at the State Land office at Marshall. Mr. Ball was
there and bought some lands for some of the settlers who had furnished
the means. That was all the sales that took place at that time. No one
offered to purchase them on speculation.
Up to this time all the emigration was going past Michigan to Illinois
and Wisconsin, but, hearing that there were selected lands in Michigan
to be had at a reasonable rate the emigrants stopped and looked at
them. Mr. Ball kept a run of all the sales in the land offices and had
corrected plats. He was there to meet the emigrants and give them his
knowledge in regard to the lands, so most of them, although they came
just to look, remained and others followed them.
Mr. Ball was tired of living in the backwoods alone and threw his
whole heart and soul into the work of detaining these emigrants. It is
the saying among the old settlers that anything he undertook generally
succeeded. Anyway the flood of emigrants began to come in. He aided
them in every way possible, not only with advice but with money, for
but few of these early farmers could boast of five hundred dollars,
and many of them had not enough to buy their places. Many times he
would make the payments for them and give them time on his fees.
How warmly and kindly he spoke of these first settlers who built
their log cabins and cleared the forests, their wives, too, playing their
parts as well as the men, and after a few years of privations and hard-
ships they found themselves in possession of farms, houses, cattle and
horses. This kindly feeling towards these farmers was fully returned
by them. I think it was about this time that he gained the affectionate
title, by which he was so well known in southwest Michigan of "Uncle
John." He took as much interest in their prosperity as if they were
his own family and they all looked to him for advice and assistance.
It was under these circumstances that he gained the reputation, and
I think justly, of having done more than any other man of early times
to promote the settlement of the Grand Eiver Valley.
A VISIT TO THE HOME OF CADILLAC 105
A VISIT TO THE HOME OF CADILLAC
BY C. M. BURTON1
One of the objects I had in going to France in the winter of 1906-7
was to visit the birthplace of Cadillac and to personally inspect the
home and surroundings of the man who is so prominently connected with
the early history of America.
I was in Paris during parts of January and February, 1907, and in the
manuscripts in the colonial department in the Louvre, I found several
papers written either by Cadillac, or concerning him, that in some way,
indicated the manner in which he obtained and retained the name of
LaMothe. It is maintained that the family name of the founder of De-
troit was Laumet. He came to the French possessions in America when
a young man and soon became familiar with the entire Atlantic coast
line and was called upon to give information to the officers in the
navy regarding the English colonies. In several of the early official
reports he is referred to as young Lamothe, possibly because he had rela-
tions by that name. It matters little how the first mistake was made,
he very soon became known in the colonial department as LaMothe.
After his name had once so appeared in the records it was easier to
so continue it than to correct it, and thus, from the very beginning of
his American life, he was known by that name. In the record of his
marriage with Marie Therese Guyon in Quebec in 1687, he signs his
name LaMothe Launay, and in the record he is termed Antoine de La-
Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, son of Jean de La Mothe and of Jeanne de
Malenfant. There is something uncertain, and possibly undetermined,
about the name and antecedents, but we will pass over that for the
present, hoping that the story will be untangled in the future.
On the sixth of February, 1907, we (Mrs. Burton and I) started from
Paris by an early train, and reached Montauban the same evening. This
city is thirty-one miles from the city of Toulouse so often referred to
in Cadillac's correspondence. Montauban is in the department of Tarn-
et-Garomie, on the Kiver Tarn, and contains about 30,000 people. It
is a very old city, founded in the twelfth century, and was one of the
early strongholds of the Albigeneses, the French Protestants. Notwith-
standing its subjugation to the powers of the Catholic Church, a few
years before the birth of Cadillac, it retained a great following of relig-
ious reformers. These men submitted to the open observance of ad-
herence to the church while they practiced, in private, a larger freedom
'Read at the annual meeting, June, 1907.
106 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of religious thought. The entire country was imbued with the princi-
ple of religious freedom and the people so continued to think, even
after the outward observance of Protestantism was denied them, and
many of them now retain the religious opinions of their Albigensian
ancestors.
No one can read the voluminous correspondence of Cadillac without
observing that, although he was a good Catholic churchman, he was a
Protestant against the impositions of the Jesuits and the tyranny of
the Church as imposed by that order.
It was in the neighborhood of Montauban that Cadillac was born
and passed his early youth and old age, and near here his remains were
buried.
Our first visit, was the home of the Chanoine Fernand Pettier, Presi-
dent of the Archeological Society. He was not at his home when wre
called, but the attendant asked us to step in and wait a few moments
for him. I took advantage of the delay to inspect a part of his home.
As president of the Archeological Society he appears to be the custodian
of all its collections and the rooms and walls of his home are filled and
covered with pictures, curiosities, relics and thousands of rare articles
that belong, either to the Chanoine personally or to the Society. I was
was quite prepared to meet a student and was not surprised, when a
little while later, the Chanoine (or canon) of the Catholic Church came
in and introduced himself to me. He is a very pleasant little old gentle-
man, probably seventy years of age, and as we discovered, the idol of
the village, for everyone seemed to think very much of him and appeared
to love him as if he was in reality, as he was spiritually, the father
of the community. On learning our errand, he at once set about
entertaining us. He first took us to the office of Mr. Edouard Fores-tie,
printer and lithographer. Here I found some twelve or more volumes
in manuscript, containing the records of the district of Tarn and Garonne
from 1527 to 1620. These books were once in the custody of Jean
Laumet, the father of Cadillac. He was the judge of the court of the
district and it was his duty to examine these records and certify to
the possession of them. His name is endorsed, officially, on each of
the volumes. Mr. Forestie is carefully examining the books for the pur-
pose of extracting new data relative to the Laumet family. He has
prepared a book for his own use, in which he has devoted a page to each
year of Cadillac's life and, as he has been working at it for several
years, his book is filled with interesting material.
I spen£ a considerable part of the day with these old volumes and
in conversation with several members of the Archeological Society wrho
called at the office. According to a previous arrangement with the Cha-
noine we returned to his home in the afternoon, where we met another
and younger priest, about thirty-eight years of age, professor of English,
A VISIT TO THE HOME OF CADILLAC 107
in the seminary of Montauban. Although the general conversation was
Cadillac and his family, the host, took pains to entertain us with other
matters connected with their village. From the windows of the house we
were shown the Pyrenees in the distance, and within the dwelling many
of the archeological specimens were explained to us. We were escorted
to the museum of art, it was thrown open to us — though not usually
opened on week days — and the entire collection was explained for our
entertainment. We were invited to dinner in the evening, at the house
of the Chanoine, and here we returned after a visit to our hotel. The
two priests were again with us with a young lawyer of the village,
who talked English a little. After dinner the members of the Arche-
ological Society began to assemble until the house was comfortably filled
with visitors — all intent on seeing the Americans who had come so far
to find out something of their famous countryman — Cadillac. His name
was familiar to them all and anything concerning him was of interest to
them.
On the third floor of the priest's house was a large room used for the
meetings of the Archeological Society. On one side of this room was
a canvas on*which were displayed many interesting pictures illustrat-
ing the trip of the members of this society to Moisac and Saint Nicolas-
de-la-Grave in 1904, to place a tablet at the birthplace of Cadillac. They
had pictures of the home, the churclu the chateau, and the street in
the little village and several pictures of the society taken at the time of
the celebration. There were also pictures of the journey to Castelsar-
rassin, where Cadillac spent the last years of his life. The evening was
passed very pleasantly with a large company all intent on making our
stay as interesting as possible, and when we parted, it was to make
preparation for an early start for Moisac in the morning.
Moisac is a railroad station about seventeen miles from Moutauban
and we reached the place very early the next day, February 8. Here
we took a carriage and rode six miles to Saint Nicolas de-la-Grave. The
country through which we rode is very beautiful. The district of Tarn-
et-Garonne derives its name from the two rivers Tarn and Garonne that
serve as feeders to the great canals Midi and Lateral that connect the
Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. Moutauban is situated
on the Tarn, while Moisac, a city of about 90,000 inhabitants, is located
on the Garonne. Our road to- Saint Nicolas de-la-Grave for a distance
ran parallel to the river and high above its banks. Below us on the
left we could see the winding stream, and beyond the river the great
stretch of fertile farm lands in the distance, while behind us rose the,
hills that shut out our view from the north. Crossing the stream on
a high bridge, a ride of little more than an hour brought us to the vil-
lage of Saint Nicolas de-la-Grave, the birthplace of Cadillac, before
nine o'clock in the morning. Our first call was at the home of the vil-
108 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
lage physician. This gentleman took the utmost interest in our visit.
He devoted himself to us during the time spent in the village. We first
visited the little house which was the birthplace of Cadillac. It is a
one-story brick dwelling about five hundred years old, I was informed.
In the front part of the building are two or three large living rooms.
Behind these rooms is a small court and on one side of the court is
a part of the building two stories in height, used now for sleeping
apartments. The ceilings of the rooms are very high, and whatever
heat is needed is derived from fireplaces in the living rooms. Although
it was in the middle of the winter when we made our visit, and the
weather was as cold as it is usually in that region, we found roses in
bloom in the open air in the courtyard I have mentioned.
The street in front of the dwelling is about twenty-five feet in width,
paved with cobble stones. In the neighborhood are many other dwellings
of similar size and antiquity, while occasionally a newer and larger
building has been erected. The Cadillac building now belongs to Louis
Ayral, a lawyer in Paris, and is occupied by his mother who kindly
led us through the various rooms and pointed out the portions of in-
terest.
On the eighth day of November, 1904, the Archeological Society of
Tarn and Garonne placed a tablet on this building in honor of the noted
man whose birthplace it was. This tablet bears the following inscrip-
tion:
A la memorie
Antoine Laumet de LaMothe Cadillac
Ne Dans Cette Maison Le 5 Mars 1658
Colonisateur Du Canada et De La Louisiane
Fondateur de Detroit,
Gouverneur De Oastelsarrasin Ou II Est Mort in 1730.
(To the memory of Antoine Laumet de LaMothe Cadillac, born in this
house March 5, 1658, Colonizer of Canada and Louisiana, founder of
Detroit, Governor of Castelsarrasin, where he died in 1730.)
St. Nicolas is a small village, containing two or three thousand people.
It is as we reckon time, very old. The streets and houses have changed
but little in the two hundred and fifty years since Cadillac's birth, and
every street of the village has borne the impress of his childish feet.
Here stands the little church where he was baptised, whose archives
contain the record of his birth and that of his brothers and sisters.
Here he attended church as a youth, and received his first communion
and drank in snch words of religious liberty as were current at that
A VISIT TO THE HOME OP CADILLAC 109
time. Near by is the old chateau, now used, in part, for a school for
boys. The children were at recess in the play yard when we called.
They were all nicely and cleanly dressed in the peculiar garb of the
children of this section, and all wore wooden shoes or sabots, while at
play, over their slippers or low leather shoes. Within the school room
they remove these heavy wooden shoes and wear slippers or low shoes
that make less noise. The master of the school dismissed the pupils
for a time and accompanied us in our wandering through the streets
of the village.
After visiting every street and being entertained by the village physi-
cian at an early lunch, we left the place and rode back to Moisac where
we took the train for Castelsarrasin. This is a town of about 8,000
people, twelve miles from Montaubau. It formerly contained a castle,
which was the home of Cadillac and the place of his death in 1730.
Cadillac became the governor of this place in 1722, and lived here from
that date. The old castle was destroyed many years ago and its site
is now a public park.
Mr. Paul Fontaine and Dr. Bo6, both members of the Archeological
Society, interested themselves in our visit and escorted us around the
town, pointing out the objects of interest as connected with the founder
of Detroit. The churches of St. Jean and Saint Savuet are still stand-
ing though many centuries old, linking the past with the present. In
these churches probably Cadillac and his family attended divine
worship. Within the town, in times long past, there was a Carmelite
Monastery, and within the enclosure of the Monastery was a cemetery.
Here in October, 1730, Cadillac was buried. At a later date the monas-
tery was taken by the government and converted into a prison or jail
for minor criminals. The front part of the building is now used as a
court room and the rear part has been rearranged and divided into cells.
We were escorted through the various rooms and made a careful inspec-
tion of them. The remains of the few people of importance that were
deposited in the cemetery, have been exhumed and carefully placed
together beneath the stone flagging in the rear of the building. Here
rest the bones of Cadillac who, in his time, was a native of St. Nicolas
de-la-Grave, an inhabitant of Port Royal in Nova Scotia, the owner and
seigneur of Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor in Maine, the Command-
ant of Mackinac, the founder and first commandant of Detroit, the Gov-
ernor of Louisiana, a prisoner in the Bastile in Paris and the Governor
of Castelsarrasin.
110 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF CADILLAC
1. Jean Lauinet, lawyer, assistant to the justice, royal justice, coun-
sellor of the king- in the Parliament of Toulouse, living at St.
Nicholas de-la-Grave, married March 16, 1646, Jeanne de Pecna-
gut. They had seven children.
2. I. Anne, born April 16, 1648, married Sept. 26, 1665 Pierre
Lasserre.
3. II. Antoine Francois born Dec. 4, 1653, married Louyse
d'Auriol de Peireus — died without children.
4. III. Jeanne, born Jan. 6, 1656, married May 22, 1670 Jean
La ires, lawyer of Saint Sardos.
5. IV. Antoine, born March 5, 1658, married June 25, 1687, at
Quebec, Marie Therese Guyon, daughter of Denis Guyon
and his wife Elizabeth Boucher.
In the church record Antoine is named Antoine de la
Mothe, sieur de Cadillac of Port Royal in Acadia, aged
about twenty-six years, son of Jean de la Mothe, sieur de
Cadillac, de Launay et de Semontel, counsellor of the
Parliament of Toulouse, and of Jeanne de Malenfant.
Antoine died at Castelsarrasin, of which he 'was the
governor, October 16, 1730, aged about 73 years.
6. V. Jean, born November 17, 1670, died October 13, 1674.
7. VI. Anne (Perrette) born April 27, 1673, married about 1695,
Pierre Mauquie de Montgaillard. (She was a widow in
1718.)
8. VII. Paul, born June 24, 1674, married Martial de Faussat, law-
yer in Parliament from Montauban.
5. Antoine LaMothe and his wife Marie Therese Guyon had
children.
9. (1) Judith, born either in Port Royal or Mount Desert. She
was provided with a home among the Ursuline Nuns in
Quebec. The agreement for her support is printed in the
Michigan Historical Society Collection, Vol. XXXIV, p.
250-4.
10. (2) Magdelene, born at Port Royal or Mount Desert.
11. (3) Antoine, born at Quebec, April 26, 1692, went to Detroit
with his father, and subsequently entered the military
department and was mentioned for appointment of Com-
mandant of Detroit.
12. (4) Jacques, born at Quebec, March 16, 1695.
First visited Detroit with his mother in 1702.
GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF CADILLAC 111
13. (5) Pierre Denis born at Quebec, June 13, 1699, and buried there
July 4,, 1700.
14. (6) Marie Anne, born at Quebec, June 7 and buried there June
9, 1701.
15. (7) A child was born and died at Detroit in the latter part of
1702, mentioned in one of Cadillac's letters. The church
records were destroyed by fire, 1703.
16. (8) Joseph, date of birth not known, but probably born at
Detroit in 1703. He married Marguerite de Gregoire
at Castelsarrasin, June 5, 1732. She was the daughter
of Claude de Gregoire (at one time governor of Castel-
sarrasin) and his wife Marguerite de Bouisson d'Aus-
soune.
17. (9) Marie Therese, born in Detroit, February 2, 1704, married
February 16, 1729, Francois-Hercule de Pousargues, of
an ancient and noble family of Castelsarrasin. He was
the son of Claude de Pousargues and his wife Jeanne-
Marie de Calvert. No children.
18. (10) Jean Antoine, born at Detroit, January 19, 1707, and buried
there April 9, 1709.
19. (11) Marie Agatha, born at Detroit, December 28, 1707.
20. (1.2) Francois born at Detroit, March 27, 1709. Married Septem-
ber 10, 1744 to Angelique Furgole, widow of Pierre Sal-
vignac and daughter of Jean Furgole. No children of
this marriage.
21. (13) Rene Louis, born at Detroit, March 17, 1710. He was placed
in charge of some of the members of his mother's family
in Quebec, when Cadillac and his wife removed to Louis-
iana, for he died in that city, October 7, 1714.
16. Joseph Lamothe and Marguerite de Gregoire had at
least two children: (1) Marie Therese LaMothe; (2)
Marguerite Anne LaMothe. Marie Therese LaMothe
married Bartholomy de Gregoire and by him had
Pierre, Nicholas and Maria. They were naturalized
by a special Act of the legislature of Massachusetts,
Oct. 29, 1787, in order that they might hold the tract
of land formerly owned by Cadillac in Maine. (See
Maine His. Soc. Colls., Vol. VI, p. 275.
112 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
PRESENTATION OF HURT'S PORTRAIT AND SOLAR COMPASS
TO MICHIGAN PIONEER ANt) HISTORICAL SOCIETY1
BY JOHN E. DAY
It is with feelings of pleasure and pride that I am invited to say a
few words about Judge William Austin Burt2 in the way of presenta-
tion of his portrait and his compass3 to the Michigan Pioneer and His-
torical Society. Pleasure, because I love to speak in favor of a useful
man, and pride because be was the product of my native State and
my native county. I am aware that the good work of a public servant
is a greater tribute to his worth than any words of mine can be, so
I shall be brief.
Judge Burt was born in Massachusetts during the closing years of the
18th century and seeking a home came to Michigan in 1823 with a
strong constitution, a predisposition to work, six weeks of school edu-
cation, and a capital yet to be acquired. His practical mind sought
the calling that seemed to be most congenial to his taste and at the
same time most promising of usefulness to the new territory of Mich-
igan, so in company with a brother-in-law, John Allen, he gave his atten-
tion to engineering and mill building.
He built mills in many places in the State, at the same time using
his evenings and such other leisure time as he could get in advancing
himself along the lines of mechanics, engineering and surveying. He
soon obtained a contract to do a brief job of township surveying in
Sanilac county and performed this task so well that it opened the way
for work of larger extent and greater responsibility. In 1835 he re-
ceived the appointment of deputy-surveyor, and entered upon a contract
in the Upper Peninsula, and here encountered the difficulties which led
to the great invention of his life, that of the Solar Compass.
In 1839 or 1840, Judge Burt conceived the plan of an instrument by
which his thoughts might be committed to paper in the form of printed
characters and more speedily than by use of the pen, and caused to be
made the first known typewriter. Letters printed upon this machine
are still in existence as perfect in every particular as those printed upon
the more modern ones.
But the country was not yet ready for such an invention. The volume
'Read at annual meeting, June, 1907.
2For portrait and Life of William A. Burt by George H. Cannon, see Vol. V,
pp. 114-120, this series. This article is illustrated by a picture of the Solar Com-
188.
3See description of this compass in Vol. V, pp. 119-120, this series.
PRESENTATION BURT'S PORTRAIT AND SOLAR COMPASS 113
of clerical labor had not yet increased to such an extent as to demand
it, and that more modern and more attractive attachment "the type-
writer girl" had not yet been thought of. So in the crowd of other mat-
ters seemingly of more pressing importance the typewriter was neglected
and in a fire which occurred in the Patent Office this model was de-
stroyed.
On the death of Dr. Douglass Hough ton in 1845, Mr. Burt was selected
to complete his work as state geologist and make report of the same
which labor he faithfully performed.4 Returning to the surveys of the
Upper Peninsula he found that his work was not perfect, his lines would
not "close up," that is, the lines of one township would not exactly
correspond with those of the township previously surveyed, and when
he traced a line back for the purpose of verifying, the correction was
often worse than the original. He was much perplexed and spent many
a night of scanty sleep over it, for it was his pride and ambition that
his work should be absolutely perfect. So he said to his men, "Boys
there is some reason for this. Let us see if we cannot find it." Shortly
the men began to bring in large samples of iron ore and the Judge said,
"Now wre have the solution of the whole difficult problem. The iron
ore so affects the magnetic needle as to produce marked and serious
aberations." Then there came to his mind the idea of an instrument in
which he would discard the polar star as a medium of attraction to the
needle and use the sun as a fixed point by which observations could be
made; on the principal of the old sundial, which gave the time by the
shadow cast by the sun across the figure set at a proper angle upon a
dial. He so adjusted his instrument as to give latitude, direction and
time at one observation, without being influenced by any metallic sub-
stance. Mr. Burt thought that if this succeeded it would be of use only
in case of just such emergencies as were presented in this survey, and
because of somewhat slower adjustment, and of days when the sun did
not shine, it would not be of general service. But soon after, the old
compass was so broken as to be useless and beyond repair and he was
forced to use in its place his solar compass. He found it just as easy
of adjustment and as little subject to loss of time as the old one.
The discovery of the iron ore by Judge Burt's party led to the opening
of the iron interests, so to Judge Burt must be given the credit of not
only inventing the Solar Compass but also uncovering to the public use
the vast mineral wealth of our State.
In 1851 he visited Europe and exhibited the compass at the first
World's Fair, in the Crystal Palace at London, where it was granted the
highest degree of honor. At this time he took occasion to visit Scotland
4This report was made in connection with Bela Hubbard and was printed in
Detroit, 1846.
15
114 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and had an interview with Hugh Miller the geologist, of whom he was
a great admirer.
On the way home he prolonged the ocean voyage in order to develop
another invention, that of an Equatorial Sextant, which was patented
in all civilized countries and became of immense value in the naviga-
tion of the seas. It has been wisely said that each person should leave
the world at least a little better than he found it. Mr. Burt and other
pioneers of Michigan more than met this requirement for they enriched
the world in material wealth and beauty as well as by the example of
great and noble characters. He died in the midst of his usefulness while
teaching a class the use of his instruments and is buried together with
his five sons in Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit. A bronze cast of the
Solar Compass is placed upon his monument. To the inventor of the
compass and to his pupils and successors in the work of the public sur-
veys of the State we owe a debt of gratitude for the faithful execution
of public trusts and it is but fit that this portrait of William A. Burt
and his compass should adorn the walls of the rooms of the Michigan
State Pioneer and Historical Society. In the name of his living rela-
tives, who have contributed the portrait5 and Mr. George H. Cannon,
owner of the compass, I now present them to this Society. His life was
given to the benefit of the State and his invention was used for the
same purpose. Companions in life — in death they should not be divided.
BUKT'S SOLAR COMPASS
BY AUSTIN BURT
This compass determines the true meridian, the variation of the
magnetic needle and the apparent time at a single setting, which need
not occupy five minutes of time. It is used in making the surveys of
the public lands in the United States and Territories, and is indis-
pensable in the mineral districts where constant changes in the variation
of the needle are met with.
It was invented by my father William A. Burt, in the year 1835,
while engaged as United States deputy surveyor in the surveying of the
public lands in Wisconsin at and near Milwaukee, subsequently it was
used under the instruction of the surveyor-general by himself and his
sons, John, Alvin, Austin, Wells and William Burt in making surveys
in Iowa> Wisconsin and Michigan, who were associated with him for the
5A fine oil portrait, handsomely framed was the united gift of Mr. Burt's grand-
sons and his son W. A. Burt of Detroit.
BURT'S SOLAR COMPASS 115
most part, in those surveys, completing the exterior township, lines of
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1847.
The writer who was with him in the capacity of chainman in the
winter of 1835 while he was subdividing some twelve townships at and
in the vicinity of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, well recollects the difficulty
encountered in making accurate work in running the lines with the
common or Sunflower compass, he then was using. With the utmost
painstaking, both in running and measuring the lines in some parts of
the district, the intersections were far away from post, .altogether too
wild and unsatisfactory, sometimes to the right and again to the left
of post, varying in distance up to a hundred links or more. This erratic
work was attributed to a change in the variation, a part of it diurnal,
but mostly to local attraction. Upon entering upon this work the
variation of the compass was ascertained by taking an observation of
the North Star, and setting up range stakes in the true meridian, and
sighting the compass with them, thus getting the variation by which
the townships were to be surveyed. In practice it did not agree with
itself. When parallel lines one mile apart were run, the variation thus
obtained could not be relied upon, consequently random lines had to
be run and corrected to measurement which was not altogether accurate,
but the best that could be done to make the subdivision so that a sec-
tion of land should contain the required 640 acres more or less. So
the different section lines as established showed different variations and
it was apparent that lines could not be run by one and the same varia-
tion and close at corners, as it should. This was a source of much
perplexity and study, how to overcome these difficulties encountered by
all surveyors, and it seriously engaged the attention of my father. He
then and there applied himself to bring out some device that would
afford the needed aid in getting the variation from time to time as the
surveys progressed. The subject was talked over in camp at night and
such astronomical knowledge and mechanical skill as was at hand, ap-
plied to the subject. The necessity for an instrument that would give
the variations was almost imperative, for the accurate surveying of the
public lands was involved.
On his arrival home at Mt. Vernon after he had made returns of the
field notes of this survey to the surveyor-general at Cincinnati, Ohio,
early in July he devised and made a model of an instrument by the
use of which the variation could be obtained "When the sun shone" at
intervals on the lines of a survey during its progress. He took this
model to William J. Young of Philadelphia, who constructed an instru-
ment, under his personal supervision, and named it Burt's Solar Com-
pass, for which letters patent, were issued to him. This instrument as
first made was a rather simple affair, it had an equatorial circle on
116 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
which a limb was affixed that would revolve somewhat over a half circle,
on the end of this limb was affixed a small lens whose focus was that
of the length of the limb, on the other end of this limb was affixed
a small plate standing at right angles with it so that the sun's image
would fall on this plate which had lines marked on it that would em-
brace the sun's image. This limb was made to revolve on a center that
should correspond to the earth's axis. The equatorial circle was elevated
to the compliment of the latitude of the place of observation, this was
accomplished by attaching a latitude arc to the equatorial circle. The
revolving limb had affixed to it a declination arc on which the declina-
tion of the sun would be set off for the hour of observation ; these arcs
and circles were attached to a T on which were placed two levels,, the
whole made so as to be attached to the open cover of the common com-
pass. This was the instrument as first brought out and used in sub-
dividing some twelve townships by my brother Alvin Burt in the winter
1835-6 just west of Milwaukee, the frequent variations obtained en-
abled him to do more correct work than any surveys previously done.
The variation could be obtained by it, and the line run by the needle. I
have one of the first made, and used it on the first surveys made on
the northern Peninsula of Michigan in 1840.
The mechanical arrangement needed to be reconstructed, so lines could
be run at any course by the sun. My father gave the necessary time
and attention to this and brought out the instrument as the world now
has it, complete in all its parts, and adapted perfectly to the uses in
the Public Surveys; for the improvement of which he labored and de-
voted the best part of his life, not only that but he instructed in the
use of it, those who were to engage in the public surveys, at his own
expense. During the life of the patent my father gave every attention
to the improvement of the Solar Compass and its introduction into the
public surveys; he intended to get his patent renewed for a term of
years but as the invention was clearly and solely a benefit to the Gov-
ernment in making its surveys he was advised by many eminent men
among them was Gen. Lewis Cass, to rely on the Government for a just
compensation for its use, so he waived the matter of renewal and a bill
for compensation was introduced in Congress and passed by one branch
of it. The bill did not reach the other branch for action before Con-
gress adjourned. Bills have been introduced from time to time for
compensation but have not reached final action. A bill has been introduc-
ed in the present Congress (1886) for relief and compensation to the heirs
of the inventor. A more worthy and just measure could not well engage
their attention and they will do themselves great credit by passing the-
bill presented by his heirs.
CONTROVERSY OVER INVENTION SOLAR COMPASS 117
SUMMARY OF CONTROVERSY OVER INVENTION OF SOLAR
COMPASS
BY HORACE E. BURT
In 1886, fifty years after the patent granted to W. A. Burt, February
25, 1836, a controversy occurred over the rightful inventor of the com-
pass. The question was discussed at the meeting of the Michigan Sur-
veyors' and Engineers' Association held at Ann Arbor in 1886. Mr.
Burt's side was very ably defended by his grandson Horace E. Burt, of
Waterloo, Iowa, in 1908, in a paper too long and exhaustive to be in-
cluded in these records, but which has been filed in the archives of the
Society. John Mullett of Michigan laid claim to part, if not all the
credit of the invention, or at least, to perfecting the instrument. Mr.
H. E. Burt calls attention to the fact that Mr. Mullett's son who gave
important testimony, wras only ten years old in 1835 and could not have
been a very valuable witness. Mr. John H. Forster, a brother-in-law of
Mullett, claims that Mullett suggested the solar compass by adopting
the principle of the sundial. Mr. E. H. Martin's evidence was very
strong and convincing in Burt's favor, from experimental knowledge
of the compass and its practical use, as he served with him in making
many surveys. John Burt, oldest son of the inventor, as well as another
son, Austin, gave a history in 1878 of his fathers invention.
Mr. Mullett, his contestant, in his letters always alluded to the in-
strument as Burt's Solar Compass and Mr. Burt's son Alvin first brought
out the instrument in Milwaukee, in 1835 and 1836. On Mr. Burt's re-
turn from patenting the compass he displayed the instrument at Phila-
delphia, Pav and the committee of the Franklin Institute awarded him
the Scott Legacy Medal and $20.00.
Mr. John H. Forster in Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections
volume eight in his memoir of his brother-in-law, Mr. Mullett, lays no
claim for the invention.
On the Mullett side of the controversy Mr. John J. Watkins, an old
surveyor, in January 1886 made a public statement that John Mullett
did as much to perfect the Solar Compass as Mr. Burt. Mr. H. E. Burt
did not deny it at the time, though he was engaged in the attempt to
secure an appropriation from Congress for the Burt heirs recompens-
ing them for use of the invention. Mr. Hodgeman admits that no claim
was made of Mullett having anything to do with the original concep-
tion of the Solar Compass but that he did aid in carrying out a few
practical details.
118 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
In Mr. Burt's petition to Congress for an allowance to him for the
use of the instrument made just before the expiration of his patent he
sent a pamphlet and engraving made fourteen years previous and
claimed he had been constantly improving it until it was practically
perfect. This was signed and sworn to January 4, 1850. The allowance
was asked to reward twenty years labor and thousands of dollars ex-
penditure for an invention of immense benefit to the government and
for which Burt had never received only eighty dollars renumeration.
Congress reported his case favorably three times but after an unfavorable
one in the 49th Congress of 1887, the Burt heirs have made no further
claim.
Some imperfect surveys which resulted in loss to the government were
blamed to Burt's assistants and considered offsets to his claims. There
is no doubt that Mr. Burt never received proper compensation for the
resurveys called for by defective work.
Mr. Burt's character made it possible for his friends to give him an
able and convincing defense and his invention certainly is worthy of
praise and public reward.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS1
BY EDWARD C AH ILL
The history of a nation is to be looked for in a great variety of places.
Its traditions, its public and private records, its religious and social
orders, its literature and its laws, each yield copious results to the re-
searches of the historian. The social, religious and economic conditions of
a nation at any period of its history, the state of the domestic relations,
the rights of property and of succession, the growth of personal liberty,
all these and many more find their accurate expression sooner or later,
in the written or unwritten laws of the land. And the movement of
society, whether it be forward or backward, will there be indicated.
The savage needs few laws and such as he has are elementary and
as unstable as the will of a tyrant ruler. The nomad must have laws
to protect his flocks and herds, and his possessary rights of pasturage,
and he needs little more. The argiculturist requires, for his protection,
more complicated land laws, and the advent of trade, navigation and
manufacturing have been marked by the appearance of laws for their
protection. To speak inversely to the fact, when laws for the protection
of these interests are found, the existence of such interests- may be con-
clusively inferred.
'Read at midwinter meeting at Ann Arbor, Dec. 13, 1907.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 119
It is equally true that the social status of a people may be read in
its laws. The simple code of a primitive people may serve, but the
complexities of civilization, the growth of refinement and luxury, the
struggles of men for liberty, these can all be traced, and perhaps no-
where more accurately than in the codes of laws that accompany them
as a sure index of the occupations, the habits, the learning and the aspira-
tions of the times. The Magna Charta is not a long instrument, yet
it bears with it evidence of the existence of social aspirations and growth
which made possible the long and bloody struggle of the Anglo-Saxon
race for personal liberty and individual rights.
In modern times the laws of a country are to be found, not only in
constitutions, codes and compilations of statutes, but in the decisions
of the courts. It is there that the principles of natural justice, upon
which the laws of modern states are presumed to rest, are pointed out
and elaborated. It is there that constitutions and codes are construed
and the effect that is to be given them defined. It is there that the real
and not merely the apparent state of the law is to be looked for.
Nothing connected with the history of the United States is of more
interest or importance than that which centers about the adoption of
the Constitution, which furnished the framework or body for a nation,
and the subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court.* which breathed
life into its vital parts. If those decisions had been reversed, it is
impossible to forecast with certainty all the results, but, it is safe to
say, the United States, as we know it, would never have existed.
I cannot better illustrate the subject I have in mind to discuss than
by reference to some of these early decisions of the Supreme Court of the
United States.
It must be remembered that when the Constitution was framed, there
was no precedent to which its framers could turn with certainty of
enlightenment. The Articles of Confederation were valuable chiefly as
showing what should be avoided. The new charter of government must
appeal first to the sovereign states, but it must be something more than
a league between them, there must be a compact between the people
themselves to form an indissoluble Union. It followed the English sys-
tem in providing for a division of the powers of government into execu-
tive, legislative and judicial departments, each of which was of equal
honor and dignity and neither of which had the right to infringe upon
the prerogatives of the other. The government, being one of limited and
restricted power, each department must, of necessity, be called upon
from time to time to construe those provisions of the Constitution which
related specially to the duties devolved upon it, and there was no express
power given in the instrument to any one department to interpret or to
construe it for another.
120 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Unlike the English Parliament, Congress had power to pass laws only
within certain defined limits. Whenever, therefore, it exercised this
power it necessarily determined for itself that it was keeping within the
prescribed limits. Was this determination final and conclusive upon
the other departments, or did there exist, of necessity, a revisory power
that could speak with authority in the interpretation of he Constitu-
tion, in defining the limits to which the other departments might go
and to which all others must give heed?
In the light of what has happened since, this seems a simple question.
But it was not so simple in the early days of the Constitution. Which-
ever department assumed this power without being able to point to an
express grant of it in the federal compact, ran the risk of being charged
with usurpation by the other departments, unless such assumption was
accompanied by such plain, reasonable and convincing arguments for
its necessity as would satisfy the judgment and allay the jealousies of
all.2
That task fell upon the Supreme Court of the United States in the
case of Marbury v. Madison.8 Madison w^as Secretary of State under
President Jefferson. President Adams, near the end of his term had
appointed Marbury as one of the justices of the peace for the District
of Columbia under an act of Congress authorizing such appointment.
The appointment had been confirmed by the Senate, the commission made
out and signed, and delivered to the Secretary of State to have the
great seal affixed and the commission recorded and delivered to the
appointee. For some reason, not disclosed, the commission was not de-
livered to Mr. Marbury during Mr. Adams' term of office, and after
the accession of President Jefferson, his Secretary of State, Mr. Madison,
declined to deliver it.
An application was then made by Mr. Marbury to the Supreme Court of
the United States for a writ of mandamus to compel Mr. Madison, as
Secretary of State, to deliver the commission. An order to show cause
was granted, and upon the return of the writ and answer of the respond-
ent, and after argument by counsel, the Chief Justice, John Jay, de-
livered the opinion of the court.
2The first case in which a court assumed the right to declare a legislative enact-
ment void as being in violation of the Constitution (Colonial Charter) was that
of Trevett v. Wheeden, decided by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island in 1786.
The action of the court was bitterly denounced by the public; the General As-
sembly was convened in special session and the Judges cited to appear and show
the grounds of their assumed right to set aside laws passed by the legislature.
The judges appeared and ably defended the opinion rendered, asserted the inde-
pendence of the judiciary, and denied that the Court was accountable to the General
Assembly or to any other power on earth for its judgments. The fearless attitude
of the fudges was far from satisfactory to the General Assembly or to the other
authorities of the state, and at the close of the year four of the judges were retired
from office and their places filled by more pliant men. 2. Arnold's History of
Rhode Island, Ch. 24.
31 Cranch 137.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 121
It was held that Marbury had a legal right to his commission, and
that mandamus was a proper remedy to pursue and could lawfully be
maintained against the Secretary of State. The writ, however, was de-
nied on the ground that the Supreme Court was without original juris-
diction to issue such writ. It was true, the learned Chief Justice said,
that Congress, in the act to establish the courts of the United States,
expressly authorized the Supreme Court to "issue writs of mandamus
in cases warranted by the principles and usages of law, to any courts
appointed, or persons holding office, under the authority of the United
States."
"The Secretary of State, being a person holding an office under the
authority of the United States, is precisely within the letter of the
description, and if this court is not authorized to issue a writ of man-
damus to such officer, it must be because the law is unconstitutional,
and therefore absolutely incapable of conferring the authority-. The
Constitution vests the whole judicial power of the United States in one
Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress shall, from time
to time, ordain and establish. In the distribution of this power, it is
declared that 'the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in all
cases affecting ambassadors or other public ministers and consuls, and
those in which a state shall be a party. In all other cases the Supreme
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction.'
"The authority, therefore, given to the Supreme Court, by the act
establishing the judicial courts of the United States, to issue writs of
mandamus to public officers, appears not to be warranted by the Con-
stitution ; and it becomes necessary to inquire whether a jurisdiction so
conferred can be exercised.
"The question whether an act, repugnant to the Constitution, can be-
come the law of the land, is a question deeply interesting to the United
States; but, happily, not of an intricacy proportioned to its interest.
It seems only necessary to recognize certain principles, supposed to have
been long and well established, to decide it."
After discussing at some length the origin of the Constitution and
showing that the powers granted by it are defined and limited, and that
unless such limitations are to be recognized the Constitution is with-
out force or meaning, the learned Chief Justice concludes:
"If an act of the legislature, repugnant to the Constitution, is void,
does it, notwithstanding its invalidity, bind the courts and oblige them
to give it effect? Or, in other words, though it be not law, does it con-
stitute a rule as operative as if it was a law? This would be to over-
throw in fact what was established in theory-; and would seem, at first
view, an absurdity too gross to be insisted on. It shall, however, receive
a more attentive consideration.
122 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department
to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases
must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict
with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.
"So if a law be in opposition to the Constitution ; if both the law and
the Constitution apply to a particular case, so that the court must either
decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the Constitution,
or conformably to the Constitution,, disregarding the law, the court
must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This
is of the very essence of judicial duty.
"If, then, the courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Consti-
tution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature, the Constitu-
tion, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both
apply."
It was fortunate that the case which first called for an adjudication
of this important question was one which called upon the court to
abridge its own powers and to acknowledge that the court itself, as
well as Congress, must strictly regard the limits fixed by the Constitu-
tion in exercising its powers. There was no opportunity to say that
the court was ambitious to assume power not granted, in view of the
fact that it had just disclaimed a power which Congress had voluntarily
assumed to vest in it.
The historic interest of this case lies in the fact that it established
for the first time a right of interpreting the Constitution in the judicial
department of the government, — the department most permanent in form
and, therefore, most stable and conservative and least liable to the
mutations of political fortunes, and, also, that the other departments
cheerfully acquiesced in such right. So that it has come to be as well
settled as any express provision of the Constitution that that instru-
ment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States, is
the Supreme Law of the land. Any other doctrine must have led to
confusion and anarchy, involving the destruction of the Constitution and
the government it established.
The case of M'Culloch v. Maryland* involved the power of Congress
to establish a United States bank and the power of a state to tax such
bank, but it led to the declaration of other principles of great import-
ance which have been accepted as the law of the land.
Among the acts passed by the First Congress, after the adoption of
the Constitution, was a law for the incorporation of a United States
bank, under which a bank, with branches in various cities, was estab-
lished. This act was not passed without great opposition, and it is
doubtM if it could have passed the Congress and become a law but
44 Wheat. 316.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 123
for the convincing argument made by Alexander Hamilton, then Sec-
retary of the Treasury, in his report to Congress.5 The original act
was permitted to expire; but a short experience of the embarrassments
to which the refusal to renew it exposed the government, convinced those
who were most prejudiced against the measure of its necessity, and
induced the passage of another law in 1816. The opposition to the
measure then manifested itself by hostile legislation in some of the
states. The state of Maryland passed a law entitled, "An Act to Impose
a Tax on all Banks or Branches thereof in the State of Maryland, not
chartered by the Legislature," which act was aimed directly at the
branch of the United States Bank which had been established at Balti-
more. An action was brought in a Maryland court to recover certain
penalties which it was claimed had acrued to the state of Maryland in
consequence of the non-payment of this tax. A judgment was recovered
and affirmed by the court of last resort of that State, from which an
appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States upon the
ground that the Maryland law was in violation of the Constitution
of the United States because,
First, Congress had power, under the Constitution, to establish the
bank, and,
Second, that the state had no power by taxation or otherwise to im-
pair a constitutional power of Congress.
When the case came on for argument in the Supreme Court, the at-
torney general of the United States appeared for the government, and
there were associated, as counsel, Daniel Webster and William
Pinkney. The state of Maryland was represented by three eminent
counsel, the leader of whom was Luther Martin, then the attorney gen-
eral of Maryland, one of the greatest, if not one of the most scrupulous,
lawyers of his time. The arguments covered a broad field, and the
opinion of the court, rendered by Chief Justice Marshall, did not fall
short of the arguments of counsel in this respect. In the course of the
opinion, the Chief Justice announced the following great principles,
which have since been received as settled law in this country, although
many of them can scarcely be considered to be involved in the decision
of the question before the court :
"Congress has power to incorporate a bank.
"The government of the Union is a government of the people; it
emanates from them; its powers are granted by them; and are to be
exercised directly on them and for their benefit.
"The government of the Union, though limited in its powers, is su-
preme within its sphere of action ; and its laws, when made in pursuance
of the Constitution, form the supreme law of the land.
'Lodge's Life of Hamilton, 98-102.
124 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"There is nothing in the Constitution of the United States, similar to
the Articles of Confederation, which exclude incidental or implied
powers.
"If the end be legitimate and within the scope of the Constitution,
all the means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that
end, and which are not prohibited, may constitutionally be employed
to carry it into effect.
"The state governments have no right to tax any of the constitutional
means employed by the government of the Union to execute its constitu-
tional powers.
"The states have no power, by taxation or otherwise, to retard, im-
pede, burden or in any manner control the operations of the constitu-
tional laws enacted by Congress to carry into effect the powers vested
in the National Government."
As indicating the latitude taken in the opinion, I quote a few para-
graphs :
"In discussing this question, the counsel for the state of Maryland
have deemed it of some importance,, in the construction of the Constitu-
tion, to consider that instrument, not as emanating from the people,
but as the act of sovereign and independent states. The powers of the
general government, it has been said, are delegated by the states, who
alone are truly sovereign; and must be exercised in subordination to
the states, who alone possess supreme dominion.
"It would be difficult to sustain this proposition. The convention
which framed the Constitution was indeed elected by the state legisla-
tures. But the instrument, when it came from their hands, was a mere
proposal, without obligation or pretensions to it. It was reported to
the then existing Congress of the United States, with a request that it
might 'be submitted to a convention of delegates, chosen in each state
by the people thereof, under the recommendation of its legislature, for
their assent and ratification.' This mode of proceeding was adopted;
and by the convention, by Congress, and by the state legislatures the
instrument was submitted to the people. They acted -upon it in the
only manner in which they can act safely, effectively, and wisely, on
such a subject, by assembling in convention. It is true they assembled
in their several states — and where else should they have assembled?
No political dreamer was ever wild enough to think of breaking down
the lines which separate the states, and of compounding the American
people into one common mass. Of consequence, when they act they act
in their states. But the measures they adopt do not, on that account,
cease to be the measures of the people themselves, or become the measures
of the state governments.
"From these conventions the Constitution derives its whole authority.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 125
The government proceeds directly from the people; is 'ordained and
established' in the name of the people; and is declared to be ordained,
*in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic
tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and to
their posterity.' * * *
"It has been said that the people had already surrendered all their
powers to the state sovereignties, and had nothing more to give. But,
surely, the question whether they may resume and modify the powers
granted to government does not remain to be settled in this country.
Much more might the legitimacy of the general government be doubted,
had it been created by the states. * * *
"The government of the Union, then (whatever may be the influence
of this fact on the case) , is, emphatically, and truly, a government of the
people. In form and in substance it emanates from them. Its powers
are granted by them, and are to be exercised directly on them, and for
their benefit."
This language, uttered nearly a century ago, by Chief Justice Mar-
shall, has a recently familiar sound, although even at this time there
are not lacking those who denounce such language as the utterances
of demagogues, or as being at variance with the idea of "a republican
form of government."
The historic interest of this case lies in the fact that it was the origin
of the doctrine of implied powers, without which the sovereignly of the
nation must have been greatly abridged. It has been appealed to on
many occasions of stress, and is still the rallying cry of those who be-
lieve in a nation with a big N.
I crave your indulgence for referring to one more of the early federal
cases which is of historic interest, as being the first case in which the
power of Congress, under the interstate commerce clause of the Consti-
tution, was discussed and defined. It is the case of Gibbons v. Ogden*
decided in 1824. Like the Maryland case, it was brought by appeal from
the highest court of a state — New York— to the Supreme Court of the
United States.
The legislature of New York had granted to Robert B. Livingstone and
Robert Fulton the exclusive right for a term of years to navigate the
waters of that state with boats moved by fire or steam. Ogden, as as-
signee of Livingstone and Fulton, had acquired the exclusive right to
navigate such waters between Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and the city
of New York. Gibbons was the owner of two steamers which he em-
ployed in running in competition to Ogden from Elizabethtown to New
York, and a bill was filed by Ogden to restrain Gibbons from infringing
upon his exclusive rights, based upon the New York statute and his
69 Wheat. 1.
126 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
assignment from Livingstone and Fulton. An injunction being awarded
by the court of New York, Gibbons answered, setting up an act of Con-
gress passed in 1793, entitled, "An act for Enrolling and Licensing
Ships and Vessels to be Employed in the Coasting Trade and Fisheries
and for Regulating the Same/' and claimed rights in virtue of a license
under that act. At the hearing in the state courts, the injunction was
perpetuated and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of the
United States on the ground that the New York statute infringed upon
the power of Congress to regulate commerce between the states.
At the hearing in the United States Supreme Court, Daniel Webster
was principal counsel for Gibbous. The state of New York was repre-
sented by Mr. Oakley, an eminent lawyer of his day.
Chief Justice Marshall, speaking for the court, delivered an exhaus-
tive opinion, in which he discussed and defined the term "commerce"
as used in the Constitution, rejecting the narrow meaning given to it
by counsel who represented the state of New York. He said :
"Counsel for the appellee would limit commerce to traffic, to buying
and selling, or to the interchange of commodities. Commerce undoubt-
edly if? traffic, but it is more; it is intercourse. It describes the com-
mercial intercourse between nations and parts of nations in all its
branches, and is regulated by prescribed rules for carrying on that in-
tercourse.''
The learned Chief Justice showed by elaborate and unanswerable logic
that the powers granted to Congress to regulate commerce between the
states was essentially an exclusive power which could not be shared with
the states. As a result of the decision, the monopoly attempted to be
established by New York in the navigation of its rivers was overthrown,
and they were opened to the commerce of the world. It is worthy of
note in passing, that the lifting of the embargo was followed by a rapid
increase of steamboats on the Hudson River and adjacent waters, which
the monopoly had held in check. The doctrine of this case, now so
familiar, because of the numberless cases since decided by the Supreme
Court of the United States involving questions of interstate commerce,
acquires its importance and interest from the fact that it was the pioneer
case and laid down the principles upon which has been established the
present broad doctrine of the power of Congress over the subject to which
it related. If the decision had been the other way, and the narrow con-
struction put upon the Constitution which was contended for by the
State of New York, who can forecast the results?
An important part of the decision of every case are the briefs and
arguments of counsel. In the early days, when there were fewer cases,
the arguments were printed with the opinion, and we are indebted to
that practice for the preservation of some of the greatest legal argu-
HISTORICAL LIGHTS FROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 127
ments ever addressed to a court. We learn from them that many of the
profound doctrines concerning the interpretation of the Constitution of
of the United States, by which the early justices of that court won
great and lasting distinction, and from wrhich the nation has reaped in-
calculable benefits, were first propounded, elaborated and illuminated by
the learning and eloquence of the great lawyers who argued the cases.
I will close what I have to say upon this subject by a brief refer-
ence to a few Michigan cases which have local historical interest.
It is doubtless known to most of you that slavery once existed in
Michigan. Keference to that fact will be found in various histories.
But it may not generally be known that we are indebted to the opinions
of Judge Wqodward, one of the early territorial judges of Michigan, for
a history of the origin of slavery in this territory, and for the declara-
tion of the law which resulted in its more speedy extinction. Judge
Woodward's opinions in two cases will be found printed in Vol. XII
of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society's publications.
At the time of the adoption of the ordinance of 1787, which prohibited
slavery in the territory ,over which it established a government, slavery
already existed. And the question soon arose as to whether the pro-
hibition of the ordinance could be construed to apply to such slaves as
were held as property before the ordinance took effect, or only to such
slaves as were brought into the territory after that event. There were
three classes of slaves involved in the controversy. First, those who had
been held by French owners when Michigan was a part of the domain
of France,) the owners (of whom claimed for their title the protection of
the treaty of cession under which the territory passed from France
to Great Britain. Second, those who wrere held by British owners at
the time of Jay's treaty and were claimed as property under its pro-
visions. So long a time had elapsed since th(ose treaties were made —
particularly the French treaty — that but few persons were living, whether
as owners or slaves, who could be affected. Third, those who, since the
territory had come under American control had been brought into it
from states where slavery was lawful. In this class was included much
the larger number.
The first case decided by Judge Woodward arose out of a habeas
corpus proceeding brought on behalf of Elizabeth, James, Scipio and
Peter Dennison, claimed as slaves by Catherine Tucker. In the return
to the habeas corpus, Catherine Tucker asserted rights under both
treaties. Judge Woodward, in his opinion, gave effect to the French
treaty of cession and remanded the slaves to their mistress. The date
of this opinion does not appear.
The second case, decided in 1808, arose upon the application of one
Richard Pattinson, a British subject residing in Sandwich, Canada, for
128 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
a warrant for the apprehension ,of Joseph and Jane, his slaves, who
had fled from their master and taken refuge in Detroit. In his opinion,
Judge Woodward recognized the rights of the master to his slaves under
the laws of Canada, but declined to recognize such rights as binding
upon an American court, and refused to allow the warrant to issue.
He fortified his position by citing the decision of Lord Mansfield in the
Somerset case, and said that as the courts of England declined to de-
liver up slaves who had escaped from bondage and s«ought shelter on
English soil, he would follow their example.
In his opinion in both of these cases he went somewhat outside of
the record to give his opinion of slavery in general in emphatic language,
and made it very evident that the greater number of slav.es who had
been brought into the territory since the ordinance of 1787 took effect
were, in his opinion, unlawfully held as such. This volunteered (Opinion
of the learned Chief Justice, although not having the force of a judg-
ment upon the rights of such persons, was generally accepted and acted
upon, and I find no record of any case affecting the liberties of such
slaves.
It is a matter of common knowledge that it has been claimed that
Michigan was, during the period between the adoption of its first con-
stitution in 1835 and its admission into the Union in 1837, an independ-
ent and sovereign state owing no allegiance to the government of the
United States, but I doubt if it is generally known that it has been
judicially determined that this was a fact.
The case of Scott v. Detroit Young Men's Sooiety? lessees, was eject-
ment brought by the Detroit Young Men's Society to recover possession
of real estate which it claimed under a deed executed to it in its cor-
porate name. The corporation known as the Detroit Young Men's
Society was incorporated under an act of the state legislature passed
at its first session after the adoption of the constitution, and approved
March 26, 1836, by Stevens T. Mason, as governor of the state. It was
claimed by Scott, the defendant, that there was no such corporation,
because the government of the state of Michigan was not established,
and neither the legislature nor the executive department ,of that govern-
ment had any legal existence on the 26th day of March, 1836, and prior
to the admission of the state into the Union by Congress, January 26,
1837.
After elaborate arguments by counsel on each side, Ransom, Judge,
delivered the opinion of the court and said: "This case presents two
very important questions for our determination ; the first, involving the
validity of the acts of our state government, and in fact the very ex-
istence of such government, prior to the admission of the state into the
1 Doug. 119.
HISTORICAL LIGHTS PROM JUDICIAL DECISIONS 129
Union by Congress, January 26, 1837. * * * We shall first inquire
whether Michigan was a state, with a constitution, and a government
organized under it, possessing the sovereign power of state legislation
over the people within her limits on the 26th day of March, 1836. If
not, then the 'act to incorporate the Detroit Young Men's Society' passed
by the body claiming to be the legislature of such state, and approved
by Stevens T. Mason as governor of such state on the day last men-,
tioned, was a nullity. It gave no vitality or powers to the plaintiff, as
a corporation. They had no power to take and hold the real estate in
question, or to sue for its recovery."
I shall not take your time, although I am not sure but that you would
find it interesting, to quote further from the exhaustive and learned
opinion of Judge Ransom, by which he fortified the conclusion which
the court had reached, that Art. 5 of the Ordinance of 1787, for the
government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river
Ohio, secured absolutely and inviolably to the people of the territory of
Michigan, as established by the act of Congress of January 11, 1805,
the right to have a permanent constitution and government whenever
the territory should contain 60,000 free inhabitants, a right which could
in no way be modified or abridged or its exercise controlled or restrained
by the general government. That the assent of Congress to the admis-
ison of Michigan into the Union was only necessary because the older
states represented in Congress possessed the physical power to refuse a
compliance with the terms of the compact contained in the ordinance of
1787, and there was no third party to whom the state could resort to
enforce such compliance. But the right to admission became absolute
and unqualified on the adoption of the constitution and the organization
of the state government. And that the act passed in March, 1836, to in-
corporate the Young Men's Society of Detroit was legal and valid, as
the act of an independent and sovereign state.8
It is generally supposed, I presume, that the cultivation of sugar
beets in Michigan is a very recent affair. In fact, the Encyclopedia
Americana, under the topic of sugar beets, says that the first experiments
with sugar beets in the United States were made by two Philadelphians
in 1830. About ten years later David Child, of Northampton, Massa-
chussets, attempted beet cultivation and the making of sugar. He pro-
duced 1,300 pounds at a cost of eleven cents per pound. These efforts
failed and seemed to have discouraged further effort until the Genert
brothers, natives of Brunswick, Germany, inaugurated a plant at Chats-*
worth, Illinois, in 1863, which failed seven years later.
"Judge James V. Campbell in his Constitutional History of Michigan, referring
to this case, lays little stress upon that part of the opinion which declares that
Michigan was a state before it was admitted to the Union,— the only point which
gives the case historical significance.
17
130 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
In the case of Hasey v. The White Pigeon Beet Sugar Company,9
however, a suit was brought upon the following instrument:
"WHITE PIGEON, June 10, 1840.
"By order of the Board of Trustees, the treasurer of the White Pigeon
Beet Sugar Company will pay to Henry A. Knapp, or bearer, Seven
and Thirteen One-Hundredths (7.13) Dollars.
"Signed, SAMUEL A. CHAPIN, Pres.
"C. YATES, See."
This would seem to bear conclusive evidence of the fact that prior
to 1840 the raising of beets for sugar had been carried on at WTiite
Pigeon, Michigan, to an extent sufficient to warrant the organization
of the White Pigeon Beet Sugar Company for the manufacture of sugar.
In Rossiter v. Chester™ it was decided that the maritime laws of
the United States did not apply to the Great Lakes and that, conse-
quently, the doctrine of general average did not apply to them. If this
doctrine had remained settled law, it would have had a serious effect
upon the navigation of the Great Lakes, which have since become the
greatest avenues of internal commerce in the country. But, fortunately,
this doctrine was overruled by the Supreme Court of the United States
in the case of The Eagle,11 and later in Backus v. Coyne.12
These are only a few of the many cases to be found in the thousands
of volumes of judicial decisions in this country containing material in-
dispensable to the student of history, who, in addition to dry facts, de-
sires to know the motives and influences that have given direction to
events.
THE BOUNDARY LINES OF THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE
TREATY OF 17821
BY CLARENCE M. BURTON
I think it is not necessary to tell you that the foundation for the
history of the Northwest Territory lies largely in the unpublished docu-
ments in the British Museum and the Public Record Office in London.
The American papers on the subject of the Treaty of 1782 at the close
of the Revolutionary War, have been collected and printed by Mr. Sparks
91 Doug. 193.
101 Doug. 154.
"8 Wall. 15.
1235 Mich. 5.
'Read at midwinter meeting, Ann Arbor, Dec., 1907.
BOUNDARY LINES UNITED STATES UNDER TREATY OF 1782 131
in twelve volumes of the diplomatic correspondence of the Revolution.
They have recently, within the last few years, been re-printed and added
to, in the Wharton collection. But the papers on the British side, with
few exceptions, are still unpublished, and it is among those papers that
I spent a good portion of my vacation while in the city of London.
A few of them are in the British Museum, but nearly all are in the
Public Record Office. I had some trouble in getting in there, but suc-
ceeded through the kindness of Mr. Carter, who represents our Govern-
ment in London, and made as many extracts as I could pertaining ex-
clusively to Detroit and the Northwest. While the collection there ex-
tends to every part of the United States, I was particularly interested
in our own State, in our own part of the country. The time permitted
me this afternoon is so short that I can only refer to a few of these
papers, and I refer to them for the purpose of showing how it came
about that Michigan became a part of the United States. That at first
sight might seem very simple to be determined, and yet I find it very
difficult. I do not know now that I have found much that would lead
to a complete determination of the reason for this form of our Treaty.
The first papers that attracted my attention I found in the British
Museum. They consisted of some correspondence in French between the
British Government and the French Government relating to the troubles
that had arisen along the Ohio River, and in that matter Detroit took
a very active interest about the year 1754. These papers finally ended
in a proposition on the part of Great Britain to accept as the north
boundary line the river that we call the Maumee, on which Toledo is
situated. The country immediately south of this to be neutral ground.
This was in 1754. If that boundary line had been established, if that
agreement had been accepted by the two countries, Michigan would have
remained French Territory, and perhaps the war which immediately
succeeded would not have taken place, and in all probability Canada
would still have been a French possession. In the midst of these
negotiations, they were terminated. I did not know at the time why,
but I found in my searches a little book which I have now, evidently
written by some member of the Privy Council, telling of the reasons for
breaking off the negotiations, and for causing the war which terminated
in 1763.2 At the end of the war, the treaty of Paris gave to Great
Britain all of Canada, and Canada at that time was supposed to in-
clude all of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, all of the land north and west
of the Ohio River. The same year that this treaty was entered into,
Great Britain established the Province of Quebec. One of the peculiar
matters connected with this establishment of the Province of Quebec
2This book is entitled, "The Conduct of the Ministry Impartially Examined,"
and was published in London in 1756.
132 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
I shall refer to hereafter. Quebec, as established in 1763, was nearly
a triangle. The south boundary line of the Province extended from Lake
Nipissing to the St. Lawrence River near Lake St. Francis. Michigan,
all of the lower part of Canada, and all of the Ohio district, were en-
tirely omitted; so that by the Proclamation of 1763, no portion of that
country was under any form of government whatever. This was likely to
lead to trouble with Great Britain and with the people in Detroit, for De-
troit was the most prominent and important place in the whole of that dis-
trict. Within a few years after the establishment of the Province of Que-
bec, a man by the name of Isenhart was murdered in Detroit by Michael
Due", a Frenchman. Due was arrested, testimony was taken here before
Philip Dejean, our justice, and after his guilt was established, Du6 was
sent to Quebec for trial and execution. After he was convicted they
sent him back to Montreal, so that he could be executed among his
friends. The matter was brought before the Privy Council to deter-
mine under what law and by what right Due was tried at all. They
executed the poor fellow, and then made the inquiry afterwards. It
was finally decided that they could try him under a special provision
in the Mutiny Act, but they had to acknowledge that at that time they
absolutely had no control, by law, over our portion of the Northwest
Territory, and that the land where we are was subject to the king ex-
clusively, and was not under any military authority except as he directed
it. In 1774 the Quebec Act was passed, and by that act the boundary
lines of the Province of Quebec were so enlarged as to include all of the
Ohio country and all the land north of the Ohio River; so that from
1774 until the close of the Revolutionary war, Canada and the
Province of Quebec included all of the land on which we are situated
as well as the present Canada, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and
Minnesota.
Now, when we come to the treaty of peace, or the preliminary treaty
of peace in 1782, the first thing that I found of interest was the fact
that Franklin, who was then in Paris, was quite anxious that some effort
should be made to close up the war. There never has been a moment from
the time the war first started that efforts were not being made along
some line to bring it to a conclusion, but it was the efforts of Mr. Frank-
lin in the spring of 1782 that finally brought the parties together. The
man who acted at that time for the British Government was Richard
Oswald. He was sent from London to Paris to represent his Govern-
ment, and to see if something could not be done with Mr. Franklin to
negotiate a treaty. Those of you who have been in Paris will recollect
that the house in which Mr. Franklin lived while there was not then
within the city limits. It was in Passy, a little village some three or
four miles distant, but now within the city limits. The place is now
BOUNDARY LINES UNITED STATES UNDER TREATY OF 1782 133
marked by a tablet a little above the heads of the passersby, on Singer
street, indicating that Franklin lived there during the time of which I
ain speaking, 1782, and some time later. He was sick. He was unable
at various times to leave his apartments at all, and much of the nego-
tiations took place in his private rooms on Singer street in Passy.
As I said before, the proceedings on the part of the American Commis-
sioners have all been published, but Mr. Oswald kept minutes of his own,
and these, with few exceptions, have been printed. These and
the papers that are connected with them, I had the pleasure of examin-
ing and abstracting, if I may use that term, during the past winter. I
find that in April, 1782, Mr. Richard Oswald3 returned to Paris, and
that place was named as the city for settling up the affairs of the Revo-
lutionary war, if it was possible, with Dr. Franklin.4 The principal
point was the allowance of the independence of the United States, upon
the restoration of Great Britain to the situation in which she was placed
before the Treaty of 1763. Of course you will see that the question that
came before the commissioners at once was as to what constituted Can-
ada, or what constituted the Province of Quebec. I think that Great
Britain made a blunder, and a serious blunder for herself, in establish-
ing the Province of Quebec within the restricted lines of Lake Nipissing,
and the reason for making this line I believe was this. She had once
before taken Canada from the French, and then restored it. She did
not know but what she might again be called upon to restore Canada
to France. But if she had to restore it, she proposed to restore only that
portion of it that she considered to be Canada, that is the land lying
north and east of the line frtom Lake Nipissing to the St. Lawrence
River. She would maintain, if the time again came to surrender Canada
to France, that all the land lying below that line was her possession,
and not a part of the land that she had taken from France. Now she
found that in order to be restored to the situation she occupied be-
fore 1763, she must abandon the land lying below that line, and there-
after it would become part of the United States. So that one of the
principal features of this new treaty was to be the restoration of Great
3Mr. Oswald was a Scotchman of some property both in Scotland and America,
and on account of his possessions in the latter country, had been consulted by the
government during the war. Franklin liked him very much and spoke of him
as being an old man who had "nothing at heart but the good of mankind, and
putting a stop to mischief." Franklin in France, by E. E. Hale and E. E. Hale,
Jr., Vol. II, pp. 77-8.
4At a Cabinet Council, held April 27, 1782, "it was proposed to represent to his
majesty that it would be well for Mr. Oswald to return to Dr. Franklin and ac-
quajnt him that it is agreed to treat for a general peace and at Paris, and that the
principal points in contemplation are, the allowing of American independence, on
condition that England be put into the same situation that she was left in by the
peace of 1763." Franklin wrote Adams that he supposed this meant "being put
again in possession of the islands France has taken from her. This seems to me
a proposition of selling to us a thing that is already our own and making France
pay the price they are pleased to ask for it."
134 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Britain to the situation that was occupied by her before the Treaty of
1763.
The peculiar formation of the lines that marked the province of
Quebec in the proclamation of 1763 attracted my attention, and I under-
took to study out the reason for so shaping the province, and some years
ago wrote out the reason that I have outlined. I did not know then that
there were documents in existence to prove the truth of my theory.
In July, 1763, Lord Egremont, Secretary of State, reported to the
Lords of Trade that the King approved of the formation of the new gov-
ernment of Canada, but that the limits had not been defined. The
King thought that great inconvenience might arise if a large tract of
land was left without being subject to the jurisdiction of some governor
and that it would be difficult to bring criminals and fugitives, who
might take refuge in this country, to justice. He therefore thought it
best to include in the commission for the Governor of Canada, jurisdic-
tion of all the Great Lakes, Ontarioy Erie, Huron, Michigan and £>u-
perior, with all of the country as far north and west as the limits of the
Hudson Bay Company and the Mississippi, and all lands ceded by the
late treaty, unless the Lords of Trade should suggest a better distribu-
tion.
On the 5th of August the Lords of Trade submitted their plan for the
Government of Quebec, a portion of which I will read, as follows:
"We are apprehensive that, should this country be annexed to the
Government of Canada, a colour might be taken on some future occasion,
for supposing that your Majesty's title to it had been taken its rise
singly from the cessions made by France in the late treaty, whereas
your Majesty's titles to the lakes and circumjacent territory, as well as
sovereignty over the Indian tribes, particularly of the Six Nations, rests
on a more solid and even a more equitable foundation; and perhaps
nothing is more necessary than that just impressions on this subject
should be carefully preserved in the minds of the savages, whose ideas
might be blended and confounded if they should be brought to consider
themselves under the government of Canada."
Conformable to the report of the Lords of Trade, the King, on Septem-
ber 19th, said that he was pleased to lay aside the idea of including
within the Government of Canada, or any established colony, the lands
that were reserved for the use of the Indians. He directed that the
commission to be issued to James Murray comprehend that part of
Canada lying on the north side of the St. Lawrence River which was
included within the Province of Quebec. The commission to James
Murray as Captain-General and Governor of the Province of Quebec,
which was issued November 14, 1763, bounded the province on the south
by a line drawn from the south end of Lake Nipissing to a point where
BOUNDARY LINES UNITED STATES UNDER TREATY OF 1782 135
the forty-fifth degree of north latitude crosses the St. Lawrence River—
the westerly end of Lake St. Francis.
In settling the line of the United States in 1782, it was very convenient
for our commissioners to claim that the Lake Nipissing line was the
northern boundary of the new government, for it gave to England all
the lands she claimed to have won by the contest with France, and this
line Great Britain could not well dispute.
I found here a letter from Governor Haldimand, and it is interesting
just at this point, because it gives his idea of the American Army.
"It is not the number of troops that Mr. Washington can spare from
his army that is to be apprehended; it is their multitude of militia and
men in arms ready to turn out at an hour's notice upon the show of
a single regiment of Continental troops that will oppose the attempt,
the facility of which has been fatally experienced." So Haldimand was
writing to the home office that they must have peace because they could
not contend against the militia of the United States.
In the various interviews that Mr. Oswald reports, he says that
Franklin and Laurens maintained that Canada, Nova Scotia, East
Florida, Newfoundland and the West India Islands should still remain
British colonies in the event of peace. Mr. Oswald reported that in all
the conversations on this subject, n(o inclination was ever shown by the
Americans to dispute the right of Great Britain to these colonies, and
he adds, "Which, I own, I was very much surprised at, and had I been
an American, acting in the same character as those commissioners, I
should have held a different language to those of Great Britain, and
would have plainly told them that for the sake of future peace of
America, they must entirely quit possession of every part of that conti-
nent, so as the whole might be brought under the cover of one and the
same political constitution, and so must include under the head of inde-
pendence, to make it real and complete, all Nova Scotia, Canada, New-
foundland and East Florida. That this must have been granted if in-
sisted upon, I think is past all doubt, considering the present unhappy
situation of things."
Well, he did not understand Mr. Franklin, because Franklin was
sitting there day after day, doing a great deal of thinking and letting Mr.
Oswald do the talking, and when it came to the time for Mr. Franklin
to give forth his own ideas, they were very different from what Mr.
Oswald thought they were. Franklin told Oswald on July 8th that there
could be no solid peace while Canada remained an English possession.
That was the first statement that Franklin made regarding his ideas
of where the boundary line ought to be. A few days after this, the first
draft of the treaty was made, and it was sent to London on July 10th,
1782. The third article requires that the boundaries of Canada be con-
136 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
fined to the lines given before the Quebec Act of 1774,5 "or even to a
more contracted state." An additional number of articles were to be
considered as advisable, the fourth one being the giving up by Great
Britain of every part of Canada. Oswald had formerly suggested that
the back lands of Canada — that is the Ohio lands — be set apart and sold
for the benefit of the loyal sufferers; but now Franklin insisted that
these back lands be ceded to the United States without any stipulation
whatever as to their disposal. Many of the states- had confiscated the
lands and property of the loyalists, and there was an effort on the part
of Oswald to get our new government to recognize these confiscations and
repay them, or to sell the lands in the Ohio country and pay the loyal-
ists from the sale of those lands. A set of instructions to Oswald was
made on July 31st and sent over,, but the article referring to this matter-
was afterwards stricken out, so that it does not appear in any of the
printed proceedings. The portion that was stricken out reads as follows :
"You will endeavor to make use of our reserve title to those ungranted
lands which lie to the westward of the boundaries of the provinces as
defined in the proclamations before mentioned in 1763, and to stipulate
for the annexation of a portion of them to each province in lieu of what
they shall restore to the refugee and loyalists, whose estates they have
seized or confiscated."
But Franklin refused to acknowledge any of those debts. He said
that if any loyalists had suffered, they had suffered because they had
been the ones who had instigated the war, and they must not be repaid,
and he would not permit them to be repaid ,out of any lands that belong-
ed to the United States; that if Great Britain herself wanted to repay
them, he had no objection. In a conversation John Jay, who came from
Spain and took part in these negotiations, told the British Commissioner
that England had taken great advantage of France in 1763 in taking
Canada from her and he did not propose that England should serve
the United States in the same manner, and he, Jay, was not as favorable
to peace as was Franklin.
On the 18th of August, a few days later, Oswald wrote: "The Com-
missioners here insist on their independence, and consequently on a
cession of the whole territory, and the misfortune is that their demand
must be complied with in order to avoid the worst consequences, either
5Prom 1763 to the passing of the Quebec Act, 1774, Canada occupied only a small
part of the present Canada (1911) and was included within the bounds of the
St. John river on the east and a line drawn from the head of the St. John river
through Lake St. John to the south end of Lake Nipissing, from this point, cross-
ing the St. Lawrence river and Lake Champlain, in 45 degrees north latitude, pass-
ing along the highlands which divide the rivers that empty into the said River
St. Lawre&ce from those which flow south and southeast, and along the north
coast of the Bay des Chaleurs and the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape
Rosieres, and from thence crossing the mouth of the River St. Lawrence at the
west end of the Island of Anticosti, terminating at the St. John river. See Can-
adian Archives, 1906, p. 120.
BOUNDARY LINES UNITED STATES UNDER TREATY OF 1782 137
respecting them in particular, or the object of general pacification with
the foreign states, as to which nothing can be done until the American
independence is effected." He recites the situation in America; the gar-
risons of British troops at the mercy of the Americans, the situation
of the loyalists, and the evacuations then taking place. In all these
negotiations, there was a constant determination taken by Franklin to
hold the territory in the west and on the north.
Late in August, 1782, the commissioners set about determining the
boundary lines for the new government, which they fixed in the draft of
the treaty so as to include in the United States that part of Canada
which was added to it by act of parliament of 1774.6 "If this is not
granted there will be a good deal of difficulty in settling these bound-
aries between Canada and several of the states, especially on the western
frontier, as the addition sweeps around behind them, and I make no
doubt that a refusal would occasion a particular grudge, as a depriva-
tion of an extent of valuable territory, the several provinces have always
counted upon as their .own, and only waiting to be settled and taken into
their respective governments, according as their population increased
and encouraged a further extension westward. I therefore suppose this
demand will be granted,, upon certain conditions." It seems that in the
preceding April, Franklin had proposed that the back lands of Canada
should be entirely given up to the United States, and that Great Britain
should grant a sum of money to repay the losses of the sufferers in the
war. He had also proposed that certain unsold lands in America should
be disposed of for the benefit of the sufferers on both sides.7 Franklin
had withdrawn this proposal and now refused to consent to it, although
strongly urged by Oswald, who wrote, "I am afraid it will not be possi-
ble to bring him (Franklin) back to the proposition made in April
last, though I shall try,"8
The preliminary articles of peace were agreed upon by Oswald and
Franklin and Jay, October 7, 1782, and the northern boundary line of
the United States extended from the east, westerly on the 45th degree
of north latitude until the St. Lawrence River was reached, then to the
easterly end of Lake Nipissing, and then straight to the source of the
Mississippi. If you will remember that Lake Nipissing is opposite the
northern end of Georgian Bay, you will see that the line as laid down in
6By the Quebec act the province was greatly added to its limits reaching from
the Ohio on the south, the Mississippi on the west and the Hudson Bay on the
north, including all the Northwest Territory and the Hudson Bay district as well
as the present eastern Canada. See Quebec Act, lTVh Canadian Archives, 1906.
7These unsold lands were those claimed as Crown lands in New York and else-
where, considered as the private property of the Crown.
8This was a point upon which the American commissioners finally, Nov. 28,
1782, compromised by agreeing "that Congress should recommend to the legisla-
tures of the several states an amnesty and the restitution of all confiscated prop-
erty." These articles were signed on the 30th of November.
138 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
this draft of the treaty would include within the United States all of
the territory that is across the river from Detroit, all of the southerly
portion of what formerly constituted Upper Canada. Mr. Franklin at
this time wrote: "They want to bring their boundaries down to the
Ohio, and to settle their loyalists in the Illinois country. We did not
choose such neighbors."
Mr. Franklin at this time was seventy-eight years of age, a very old
man to put in such a responsible place. In October, Henry Strachey
was sent over to assist Mr. Oswald, and in some ways I think Mr.
Strachey was a sharper, brighter man than Mr. Oswald was, although
Mr. Oswald was probably a very good man for the position. I think how-
ever, that diplomatically, the representatives of the United States were
the greater men. Henry Strachey was sent over to assist Oswald and
particularly to aid him in fixing the boundary lines. The matter was
thought to be of too great importance for one man and Lord Townshend,
in introducing Strachey to Oswald, told him that Strachey would share
the responsibility of fixing the boundaries with him.
If any of you have ever had occasion to read the treaties of 1782 and
1783 carefully, you will find that in outlining the boundary line, one
line was omitted. The draft that I found of this treaty I think is in
the handwriting of John Jay, and certainly Mr. Jay as a lawyer ought
to have been sufficiently conversant with real estate transfers to have
drawn a proper deed; but one line is omitted, and that is the line ex-
tending from the south end of the St. Mary's River to Lake Superior,
and that omission has been copied in every copy of the treaty that has
since been made, so far as I have been able to ascertain. The map
that was used on the occasion was a large wall map of Mitchell,9 printed
some years previous to 1783. I got the original map that was used on
that occasion, and on that I found a large, heavy red line drawn straight
across the country from Lake Nipissing to near Lake St. Francis, and
then along the St. Lawrence River, and westward from Lake Nipissing
to the Mississippi. That was one line. The other line running as we
now know the boundary, through the center of the lakes. I hunted for
this map for several days, and finally found it in the Public Record
Office in Chancery Lane.
On November 5thv 1782, the commissioners nearly broke off all nego-
tiations from quarreling about the boundary lines, and were about to
quit when they concluded to try it once more, and went at it. A new
draft of the treaty was made November 8th, on which the north bound-
ary line was fixed at the forty-fifth degree of north latitude. That
would run straight across the country through Alpena. If that line
had been accepted, and it came very near being accepted at one time,
"Mitchell's map. See Vol. XXXVI, facing p. 52, this series.
THE GATEWAYS OF THE OLD NORTHWEST 139
the entire northern peninsula of Michigan, and all the land in the south-
ern peninsula north of Alpena would have been British possessions, while
the land across the river from us here at Detroit would have been part of
the United States. When this draft was sent over to England, an alter-
native line was sent over with it, and the alternative line was the line
that we know as the boundary line, along the lakes. In sending over
this proposition, Strachey said that the draft of the treaty must be
prepared in London, and the expressions contained in the treaty made as
tight as possible, "for these Americans are the greatest quibblers I ever
knew." The above draft of the treaty was handed to Richard Jackson,
and he remarked on its margin, that it looked more like an ultimatum
than a treaty, and in a letter of November 12th, 1782, he wrote, "I am,
however, free to say that so far as my judgment goes and ought to
weigh, I am of the opinion in the cruel, almost hopeless, situation of this
country, a treaty of peace ought to be made on the terms offered."
On November 29th, 1782, at eleven o'clock at night, Strachey writes
that the terms of the treaty of peace have finally been agreed upon.
"Now we are to be hanged or applauded for thus rescuing you from the
American war. I am half dead with perpetual anxiety, and shall not
be at ease till I see how the Great Men receive me. If this is not as
good a Peace as was expected, I am confident that it is the best that
could have been made." A few days later he writes, "The treaty is
signed and sealed, and is now sent. God forbid that I should ever have
a hand in another treaty." The final treaty of peace was signed at that
time, and a few days later, on the 30th of January, 1783, the treaty of
peace on which it depended, that is the treaty between the other govern-
ments of Europe and England, was signed and the war was at an end.
THE GATEWAYS OF THE OLD NORTHWEST
BY FREDERICK L. PAXSON1
When the first flatboats of the Ohio Company, the "Mayflower"2 and
the "Adventure Galley" floated down the river to Marietta in the spring
of 1788, they began a new period in the history of the Old Northwest.
Until their day the Indian shore had been closed to emigration
from the East. But henceforth population was to flow along the high-
ways from the Atlantic in increasing volume, until the history of the
'Paper read at the third midwinter meeting, Ann Arbor, Dec, 1907.
2The "Mayflower" which was first called the "Union Galley" was built at Sim-
rail's Ferry and was launched April 2, 1787. With Capt. Jonathan Devol it began
the journey which ended on April 7th, at the mouth of the Muskingum river where
Marietta was founded.
140 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
wilderness in the Old Northwest should become the history of a by-
gone era.
The emigrants whom these boats carried came, in large measure, from
New England. The company3 which sent them was the creation of New
England enterprise. Yet with no hesitation they followed the old roads
across Pennsylvania and its mountains to the waters of the Yougbio-
gheny, whence flatboats could convey them by a devious course to their
destination. This was the gateway of the Old Northwest, as it existed
in the beginning of the period of American colonization, and it was one
of the two gateways that controlled the course of development of this
region so long as any gateway could exert an influence.
The hand of nature had outlined the career of the lands embraced
by the Ohio River, the Mississippi, and the Lakes long before the advent
of man in America. Between the East andj West, river valleys indicated
two easy routes and determined that these two routes should control
the traveler. By the valley of the Mohawk gentle grades connected the
Hudson River and the Lakes, and afforded the easiest of all routes for
overland connection. Farther south a second route invited the colonial
emigrarit to climb the courses of the Susquehanna and Juniata, or else
the Potomac, and from one headwaters or another to cross the short
portage to the Coneinaugh and Allegheny, or the Monongahela, or the
Youghiogheny, the tributaries of the Ohio, As the Mohawk Valley con-
trolled the entry in the north, so the Forks of the Ohio, reached by
these tributaries, controlled the southern approach to the Old North-
west, and between them they constitute the two gateways whose influ-
ence did much to determine the course of American history.
The hand of nature had indeed constructed these two routes, but the
influence of men had given them different values in the eighteenth
century. The northern route, easier in its geographic conditions, was
of little significance until after the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
In 1788 it invited no traveler, for its easy course led through an Indian
country still dangerous for white travel, and to a frontier country which
the bad faith of England still allowed to be covered by a long series
of her hostile forts. It had no attraction for the Ohio Company, and
played second part as yet to the more southern route across Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland and Virginia.
The Ohio Gateway, thus used in; the earlier period of Northwest settle-
ment, opened upon the Ohio River along its course from Pittsburg, by
"The "Ohio Company of Associates" was organized at the "Bunch of Grapes"
tavern, Boston, on March 1, 1786, and was composed of some of the best known
men of the nation. Its prime mover was Gen. Rufus Putnam, who had charge
of the first band of emigrants (forty-eight people) which made its way down
the Ohio in the spring of 1788. During the first year 132 men came to the settle-
ment. History of Ohio by Ryan, pp. 34-5; Washington County and Early Settle-
ments of Ohio by L. W. Andrews, p. 18, Vol. XXXVII, note on page 437, this series.
THE GATEWAYS OF THE OLD NORTHWEST 141
Steubenville and Wheeling, to Marietta. At various points along this
stretch pioneers reached its course, and gave their fortunes to the bosom
of the stream. They approached it from the East by roads which had
come into existence in the last phase of the colonial wars, and which
had been folloAved even before the war of Independence had been begun.
To one of the best known approaches, General Braddock had given
his name in his disastrous campaign at Fort Duquesne. In 1755 he had
mobilized his regulars and colonial levies at Fort Cumberland on the
Potomac, and had slowly introduced European warfare into the wilder-
ness as he cut his way through the forest, across the mountains, to the
Forks of the Ohio. He had failed to possess himself of the objective
of his campaign, but he had cleared a new highway to the West. Three
years later another general repeated with greater success the attempt
upon the French. The campaign of Forbes followed a different line
from that of Braddock. Instead of the valley of the Potomac, it ad-
vanced along the line of provincial roads which Pennsylvania had al-
ready marked through Lancaster, Harrisburg, Carlisle, and Bedford.
At Bedford the beaten road ended, but here began a new military road
which Forbes cut in his advance as he approached the French at their
Ohio forts.
With the end of the Indian wars, Great Britain did her best to con-
fine her colonial people to the region east of the Alleghenies, but the
call of the West was too loud to be resisted, and along these paths that
armies had blazed before them there began to move an emigration that
was to carry the life of the seaboard into the Ohio Valley. The Indian
tribes north of the Ohio, with their backing at the British frontier forts,
managed to keep the Indian shore their own; but Kentucky developed,
on the left bank of the river, a population that looked eagerly across
to the north, and waited only for safety before it should invade the
Northwest. Before the days of the memorable ordinance of 1787, and
the Ohio Land Company, the roads across the mountains had been well
worn. The narrow Indian trail had widened to admit the pack train;
the pack mule had yielded to the Conestoga wagon as a vehicle of emi-
gration ; and the huge wheels of the wagons of the emigrants had beaten
a wide and deep path which would lead as well to the Northwest as
to the Kentucky whenever the Northwest should become habitable. The
gateway had been wide open for a decade before Marietta was born
as the first settlement of the new era on the northern shore.
The gateway 'was open before the Indians allowed safe entry into
the Old Northwest. For several years the settlements along the Mus-
kingum, the Scioto, and the Miami lived in daily fear of the tribes
never far away in the forests. A new government in the East was
framed and inaugurated. And in time a hero of the revolution came to
142 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
drive away the dangers that beset the population of the Ohio Valley.
<4Mad Anthony" Wayne was smiled at when Washington gave into his
hands the task of erecting a line of forts from Cincinnati to Toledo, or
more accurately, from the Miami to the mouth of the Maumee. The
task had failed under able predecessors, but now at Fallen Timbers the
question was put and answered once for all, and in 1795 the treaty of
Greenville4 marked the withdrawal of the dangerous Indians from the
present state of Ohio. In England, in the same years, John Jay secured
the surrender of the British forts from which aid and comfort, to say
nothing of shirts and ammunition, had been constantly extended to the
Indians of the Old Northwest. Peace in the Northwest meant a renewal
of emigration on a scale never before seen. Ohio became a territory in
1800, and a state in 1803; while in its enabling act the gateway upon
which so much depended was not forgotten. The Cumberland road,
agitated after 1800, and constructed between 1811 and 1818, is concrete
evidence of the impression made upon the emigrants by the gateway
through which they had to pass. The conditions of pioneer life were
harsh enough in their best form, but bad roads were almost unendur-
able. It was not by chance that many of the new westerners believed
that their future lay with New Orleans and the Mississippi rather than
with the tottering confederacy several weeks away across almost im-
passable hills. From their needs came the overwhelming demand for
the purchase of Louisiana, and for an easy turnpike to the East.
The Cumberland road is at once the demand of the West and the
response of the East. It was built after the English war, being done
in time to carry a large part of that wave of population that passed
across the mountains at the close of the war, and broke along the Lakes
and the shores of the Mississippi. As years went by, the road increased
in capacity and traffic. Its course was lined with villages and inns. And
in the valley of the Ohio were the states of Ohio, and Indiana, and
Illinois, whose life had been poured into them through this single gate-
way of the Old Northwest. The measure of the influence of this gate-
way upon the life that passed through it is to, be found in the democratic
society that sprang into existence in the northwest. The social equality
and essential uniformity of condition here revealed point to a common
origin and a common route. In its constitutional and economic demands
the tributary area was a unit with a national spirit that was soon to
make its impression upon the conduct of national affairs in the great
struggle over internal improvements. An indirect influence of the gate-
way exists in the stimulus of this road to the construction of a rival
thoroughfare along the route leading to the other gateway in the
Mohawk Valley.
4Grenville (Greenville.) See Vol. XX, pp. 410-419, this series.
THE GATEWAYS OP THE OLD NORTHWEST 143
In the beginning, the Mohawk Valley had no invitation for the western
emigrant. It possessed the easiest of all grades, but it lay through
hostile Indians to the British forts. Its day was of the future, and it
lay waiting. Gouverneur Morris5 had dreamed of the Mohawk route
even in the revolution. He had imagined a waterway that should con-
nect the Lakes and the Hudson. In later years he had seen great canals
in Europe, and had come to believe that his dream was capable of accom-
plishment. In the beginning of tbe century he had fallen in with a
movement looking to its realization; and before the war with England
came, the demand for an Erie canal was under way. In the beginning
Morris, in the end De Witt Clinton stood for the canal. New York
was agitated and Congress was approached. Just as the great emigra-
tion started west after the war, work was begun on this canal and by the
middle of the twenties the work was done. The Cumberland road had
been pouring its thousands into the Old Northwest for nearly a decade
before the water was turned into the Erie canal at Buffalo and Albany.
The very scheme of the canal had been stimulated by an emigration that
might be detached from the Cumberland road for the benefit of New
York. So at last, in 1825, the second gateway was opened.6 It was at
the end of the season that the "Seneca Chief," with its gay decorations
and its attendant honors, left Buffalo on its triumphal voyage from
the waters of the Lakes to the Atlantic. The work was chiefly the labor
of Clinton, and as governor of the state of New York he fittingly cele-
brated the completion of his task.
A half of the Old Northwest lay dependent upon this second gate-
way and awaiting its opening. From the Cumberland road emigration
poured into the Ohio side, but it had been easier to advance toward the
Mississippi, and beyond, than to push inland, away from the river and
toward the Lakes. The southern area was well settled and prosperous
while the northern was still a wilderness. At the beginning of the
English war, when Stephenson7 was working on his traveling engine
5Morris— Sparks in his Life of Gouverneur Morris, Vol. I, pp. 497-498, gives
Morris the credit of having conceived the idea of Erie canal as early as 1777. In
1795 he made quite a study of the Caledonian canal while traveling in Scotland.
In a letter written in January, 1801, he speaks of the cost of carrying vessels from
London through Hudson River into Lake Erie and up to 1804 spoke of tapping
Lake Erie. Stephen VanRensselaer gave Morris credit of being father of the
canal. Morris was chairman of the canal commissioners from March 1810 until
his death, Nov. 6, 1816.
6Erie canal was first opened on Oct. 26, 1825. See Vol. XVII, p. 198, revised
edition, this series.
7George Stephenson, 1781-1848, perfected the engine until on Sept. 27, 1825, the
first railway train carried by a locomotive traveled with passengers and goods
over the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Encyclopedia Britannica.
144 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
in England, and Roosevelt8 was carrying his first steamboat down the
Ohio from Pittsburg; when the old Indian shore had been turned into
an active agricultural frontier ; the shore of Erie and Michigan was little
known, and its maps were nearly as crude as those of inner Africa.
Northern Ohio and Indiana were unchartered wilderness when compared
with the active farm lands of the Ohio shore. Even western New York,
through which the Mohawk gateway was to be approached, was still a
waste, and at Genesee Falls, where Rochester now stands, it is recorded
that there was in 1811 but a single house. It was this unused half of
the Old Northwest that was waiting for its gate to open. Buffalo, Cleve-
land, Sandusky, Toledo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago were at the
opening of the Erie Canal either not in existence at all, or were little
straggling villages where wild game ran at will and the Indians loitered
about the streets.
A new world came into existence with the opening of the Erie Canal.
The Cumberland road had carried the old East into the Northwest,
but its capacity had been limited by the capacity of the vehicle that
went along it. The conditions of emigration established by the pack-
train, or even the Conestoga wagon, impressed a uniformity in simplic-
ity upon all travel by this road. Its volume had been limited by the
very width of the road itself. But the Erie Canal was more safe and
less primitive than its competing route. The canal boat moved through
the waters of the canal with deliberation, indeed, but with security, and
the sloop or steamboat carried the traveler over the waters of the lakes.
There was no limit either in size or cost to the freight that could be
shipped. There was no approachable limit to the volume of migration
that might pass to the northern side. With easier communication came
quicker development in population and wealth, so that the lake side of
the Old Northwest soon caught up to the river side which had had a
generation's start. In spite of the years between the two migrations
and the difference in means, the two sections easily blended into one.
The earlier side had been filled with a people driven west by the hard
times following the war with England. New hard times in the thirties
prepared the thousands who were to pass the northern gateway in the
later time. And Michigan and Chicago are concrete evidence of the
emigration now as southern Indiana and Illinois were of the emigration
then. Significant changes in public attitude towards the gateways ap-
peared in the later day. In 1788 the Ohio Company expedition had
8Nicholas J. Roosevelt made this trip on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in 1811
with his wife. This first steamboat was built at Pittsburg in 1810 under the
supervision of Mr. Roosevelt who was instructed as to its building by Robert Ful-
ton. It was 116 feet long, 20 feet beam engine, 3€ inch cylinder and was called
the "New Orleans." In Sept., 1811, they commenced the journey, reaching New
Orleans without serious accident. The Steamboat Voyage on the Western Waters,
by J. H. B. Latrobe, Maryland Hist. Soc. Fund Publication No. 6.
THE GATEWAYS OP THE OLD NORTHWEST 145
gone west by way of a southern and indirect route, taking it as the
natural road. But when troops had to be sent from the Chesapeake to
Chicago for the Black Hawk War in 1832, they were sent by a northern
and indirect route, through the canal to Buffalo and by steamer to the
head of Lake Michigan. The Erie gateway had by 1830 succeeded to
the prominent place held in 1818 by the Cumberland road.
Through these two gateways the Old Northwest was peopled until it
ceased to be the Old Northwest and became the Middle West. Upon
the East they continued to exert their influence for several decades.
The Cumberland road had encouraged New York to persevere with the
Erie Canal. The Erie Canal impressed upon Pennsylvania the necessity
to continue her competition by constructing her canal and portage rail-
way system. The activity of Pennsylvania stirred Virginia and Mary-
land to renewed exertions, the former starting a Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal to increase the competition for the control of the gateways. While
Maryland was late enough in entering the struggle to come armed with
a new vehicle of transportation, and to begin work upon her Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad by 1828. It is to be learned from the history of
transportation in America that it was a desire for western business that
started the great canals and roads and railroads which were to make
union and nationality in America possible.
The gateways inspired the East, but they created the West, and their
dominant influence is seen in the whole ante bellum history of the
Middle West. They gave rise to a Northwest of two sections, one de-
pending upon Lake Erie and looking to the New York route, the other
reaching out from the terminus of the Cumberland road. For some
little time the two sections stood apart, but the logic of geography and
experience prepared the way for the blending of the whole population.
The influence of the gateways upon the Old Northwest comes to an end
when there is to be found throughout the five states substantial econ-
omic and social uniformity.
Intercourse between the Lakes and the Ohio had been difficult al-
ways, yet the necessity for such intercourse had given the occasion for
the first discovery of the country long before this present era begins.
How old is the Indian knowledge of the portage paths, no one can say.
The earliest of the French explorers found them known and used them
constantly. The river system dependent upon the Lakes, the Ohio, and
the Mississippi interlock over the area of the Northwest, so that there
are numerous places where the light canoe can be transferred from one
system to the other with but a short carry. On the northern side the
Cuyahoga, the Sandusky, the Maumee, and farther west, the St. Joseph,
the Chicago and the Fox, extend far to the south with their branches.
From the south the rivers rise to meet them, the Muskingum, the
19
146 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Scioto, the Miami, and the Wabash, and the Illinois and Wisconsin.
Between these rivers, pair for pair, portage paths were followed from
time to time as hunting and trapping need suggested. But the routes
were navigable only for the canoe. The Indian or the explorer, with
his portable commissariat, could move freely over them, but they gave
little comfort to the emigrant with family,, stock, and even the most
primitive of furniture. Yet the routes were valleys, and carried water-
ways, and no pioneer who had come into the Northwest through either
of the gateways was at loss what to do. The southern gateway revealed
federal activity in a great engineering work; the northern pointed to a
still greater work carried to triumphant completion by a single state.
The turnpike and canal were familiar to the population of the West, and
were by them undertaken confidently and on a large scale at a time
when Eastern communities were reluctant and timid in their own im-
provement. So it was that a population was no sooner in the river side
of the Northwest than it demanded a road to the East, and it was no
sooner in both sides than it determined to provide for itself easy inter-
communication along the portage paths, or from east to west, as might be
wise or possible.
The year 1825 is as significant as any in marking the growth of local
internal improvement in the Old Northwest. In this year the opening
of the Erie canal gave permanent accommodation to the demands for
Eastern communication and left the activities of the West available
for domestic exploitation. The father of the Erie canal was himself
called into the service of the Northwest, and his advice, eagerly asked,
was as readily given. The Fourth of July previous to the opening of
his own canal came in a period of great activity for him in the Ohio
country. On that day he formally began the excavation at Licking Sum-
mit10 that was to join the Lake and the River by a canal along the
valleys of the Ouyahoga and Scioto, connecting the villages of Cleve-
land and Portsmouth. A few days later he similarly celebrated the
beginning of a second great system that was one day to turn the old
Miami and Maumee portage into a through route between Toledo and
Cincinnati. With the commencement of the Ohio and Miami canals,
as these enterprises were designated, Ohio entered upon a vast career of
domestic improvement. Not all of her schemes were ever remunera-
tive or practical as commercial enterprises, but the state had responded
fully to that overwhelming demand for transportation which, was char-
acteristic of the whole Northwest, and to which the tedious experi-
ences of original entry through the old and narrow gateways had given
volume and insistence. On the very day that Governor Clinton was com-
mencing the Ohio canal, another ceremony was taking place within the
100n July 4, 1825, work was begun at Licking Summit on the great Ohio canal.
THE GATEWAYS OF THE OLD NORTHWEST 147
same state at St. Clairsville. Here, across the river and not far from
Wheeling, where the Cumberland road had stopped in 1818, the Presi-
dent and Vice-President of the United States were giving formal recogni-
tion to the fact of resumption of construction. The Cumberland road
was now to be continued, and to be extended under the name of the
National road, across Ohio, through Columbus, across Indiana to Indian-
apolis, and was even to point the way through Vandalia to St. Louis
before the railroad should overtake it, and bring its further building
to an end.
The whole Northwest was preparing to bind itself together by roads
and canals in 1825. Every one of the old portage paths was to receive
some recognition. The canals already begun were to satisfy the great-
est needs of Ohio. The two rival portages by the Cuyahoga-Muskingum
or the Sandusky-Scioto were blended in a compromise route that joined
the Cuyahoga and Scioto and was eminently satisfactory to Cleveland.
The Miami Canal covered another much used route. In later years San-
dusky, on a good harbor but left out of prosperity by the scheme of
state canals, was to build the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad on her
own account, and so enter the field of internal trade. Farther on, the
federal government stepped in to aid Indiana in joining the Wabash and
Maumee. Illinois turned her portage path into another canal. Wis-
consin later joined the Fox and Wisconsin rivers in the same way.
While Michigan, alone among the Northwest states in having no good
portage within her borders,, consoled herself in the first flush of her new
dignity as a state, in 1837,11 by ordering the construction of three parallel
railroads across the lower, peninsula, bringing herself nearly to ruin and
bankruptcy thereby, but throwing light upon the enthusiasm for im-
provement which the Northwest had.
With the completion of these routes of internal communication
through the Old Northwest the direct influence of the gateways came
to an end. They dominated in its history so long as travel was difficult
and as the route by its nature determined in any wise the life that
passed along it. But so soon as adequate means of transportation with-
in the country, or between it and the East were ready for any passenger
and any freight, so soon as population and wealth could flow through
it freely and unrestrained, in any direction, the period closes. In point
of time, the gateways of the Old Northwest are dominant in 1788 and
have not ceased to be important in 1850.
The significance of these gateways in the history of the Old Northwest
is more than that of two routes of travel. A road may well do more
then carry the passer-by. It may by its difficulty imprint upon him and
his character marks that will be long in passing. Whenever the capac-
nln 1837 Michigan started the Southern and Havre Branch Railroad, the Central
or Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, the Northern Railroad.
148 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ity of the road is beneath the demand upon it, its imprint must become
deeper and more permanent. Through the gateways at the Forks of the
Ohio and the valley of the Mohawk, the Old Northwest came into ex-
istence. For two generations they continued to direct its increase.
Among the elements of life in the resulting community may be found
many concrete memorials of their period of control. Social democracy
points not only to similar economic conditions, but to similar origin and
experience; zeal in transportation is the direct result of distance
and dificulty; liberal constitutional interpretation at once results from
and is necessary to continued development. For an understanding of
the uniformity which is the distinguishing feature of the Old North-
west these gateways and their history provide the key.
UNEXPLORED FIELDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY1
BY CLAUDE H. VAN TYNB
The task which I have set myself today has troubled me much in ex-
ecution because of the fear that I might be misunderstood. This so-
ciety has too large a body of excellent work to its credit, and it has
rendered too great services to the cause of Michigan history to endure
patiently any criticism of its aims and accomplishments — especially
from the lips of one of its youngest members. I hope, therefore, that
what I have to say will be viewed as suggestion, not criticism, as a
hope for our future accomplishment, and not fault-finding with past
results.
It is a commonplace among historical scholars that the only good ex-
cuse for the -rewriting of history by new generations of historians is
that each succeeding generation of readers of history has new interests
in the past which the older historians, however excellent their wrork,
neglected. Monumental and immortal as was the work of Gibbon, there
have been great and valuable studies made by later investigators in the
same field, and many contributions of the greatest interest made to
the history of the "Decline and Fall." New ways of looking upon life
create new interests in the life of past generations, and the past must
be searched again for the light it may shed upon present problems or
for explanations of the growth of institutions, now for the first time
prominent enough to attract our attention.
And there is yet another reason for rewriting history. The study
of historv itself has had its evolution from the time when the historian
JRead at the midwinter meeting, December, 1907.
UNEXPLORED FIELDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 149
was a mere annalist to the best of modern historians who try to arrange
the facts of history so that they reveal the growth or decay of institu-
tions. The methods of research have suffered immense changes, from
the day of the credulous student who accepted as true all that was
printed in a book or handed down by oral tradition, to the scientific
historian of today who accepts nothing as true which will not stand
all the tests of the most rigid criticism.
Within the last twenty years there has grown up a school of his-
torical investigators who demand a degree of integrity and care in re-
search which makes necessary a special training never before conceived
of. A statement of a few of these demands will best reveal the merits of
the school and its resulting attainments. When a scholar gives attention
to an historical monument, or document, be it inscription, letter, diary,
public paper, or any kind of "tradition" or "remains" he proceeds to ask a
great many questions for the purpose of learning first of all whether
his source is what it purports to be or what he thinks it is. Of a
printed source he first asks whether it is an exact copy of the original.
Of the original he asks when was the account written? Where? By
whom? Do the contents agree with what is learned from other sources
of the same time and place? Is the writer ignorant of things a man
of that age should have known? Has he knowledge of events lie could
not have known at the time of writing? Was the witness leagued with
others to leave behind him certain impressions — lies which historians
might agree upon? Did he observe directly or only in a secondary
way what he relates? Did this author copy from another? When the
investigator has asked all these questions, he merely makes up his mind
whether he can safely use the tradition or remains before him for the
purposes of research. When he has assembled his well authenticated
sources, he begins what is called internal criticism — trying to see in the
document what may be accepted as true. First he determines the value
of the source, which depends upon its character, the individuality of
the writer, the influence of time and place. He weighs any reasons
for doubting the good faith of an author, or reasons for questioning his
accuracy. He takes great care in the interpretation of words which
may mean one thing in one age or place, and another at a different time
or elsewhere, and finally he applies one great critical rule to all the
seeming facts before him — "The affirmation of a single source concern-
ing an external fact is never sufficient to establish that fact." This
may be called the golden rule of historical criticism. Affirmations found
in different sources upon the same point are then compared, and the
final rule for accepting a fact as true applied. "When two or more
contemporary witnesses report, independently of one another, the same
fact, with many like details, that do not have a necessary or usual, but
150 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
rather a casual connection with the facts, then the accounts so far as
they agree must be true, if the fact and its details were so clearly
perceptible that no self-deception could have been possible." The truth
is recognized that a cloud of witnesses is of no value, if all but one are
repeaters. It may seem that if all these precautions are to be observed
by every writer of history that little progress would be made in writing
the history of long periods, but if all the privates in the great army of
history writers will obey these rules in working out their little mono-
graphic tasks, the generals or — dropping the figure, — the historians of
the larger themes, have only to be sure that the monographs have been
done by this scientific method, and accepting them as final, they may
proceed to the larger tasks of the philosophic historian.
Now I hardly need to point out, that, able and devoted as some of
our historians of Michigan have been, no investigation of our state's his-
tory has even been conducted with anything like the scholarly care which
I have described. We have few monographs of the excellence of Miss
Soule's, Boundaries of Michigan, and yet we must have many hundreds
of such pieces of research done, before the great historian of Michigan,
the Gibbon who will dedicate his work to the "Goddess of the Inland
Seas," can write his monumental work. All attempts hitherto have
been handicapped by the paucity of monographic work, which made it
absolutely necessary that many of the most important topics should be
merely touched upon or not touched at all,
I have recently searched with some care the best of our state his-
tories looking for the subjects- which have either been ignored altogether
or have been inadequately treated because both the monographic ma-
terial and the accessible sources were lacking. Many similar subjects
have received careful monographic treatment in other states, as one
may see by an examination of the Iowa Journal, the Wis. Hist. Soc.
Proceedings, the Johns Hopkins University Studies, and any good col-
lection of pamphlet monographs on local history. The subject which
have been neglected are in every field, but more especially the econ-
omic and social, which only within recent years, and with the growth of
the importance of such subjects in our national life have seized the
attention of historians. The fact that readers of this age do want to
know how some of our industrial and social institutions originated and
evolved, constitutes, as I have previously shown, another reason for
rewriting our history, though it has been already so well and faithfully
done according to the scholarly standards of the times in which the
historians wrote.
First, I shall suggest some of the political subjects which need care-
ful monographic treatment. A study is needed of Michigan's Indian
policy, and the gradual extinction of Indian titles within its boundaries.
UNEXPLORED FIELDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 151
Michigan's interest in the tariff and how her state politcs have been
influenced thereby has never been scientifically treated. There is no
study of the struggle of sectional interests in our legislature, the con^
flicting legislative wishes of the mining interests of northern Michigan
with the agricultural interests or the lumber interests in the southern
peninsula. A chart, or a county map, of the votes on certain measures
would reveal some fierce struggles between the several groups. Then
the party machines have a history, and much of the local government
organizations deserves study, the origin and changes in township and
county government. The source and the historical development of the
county boards, their officers and powers, deserves attention, as does
also the struggle for elective as against appointive judiciary, and the
history of the decay of the grand jury system and the substitution of
the prosecuting attorney. Michigan's contact with national politics
will reward a number of investigators, her attitude towards the Mexican
War, the Compromise of 1850, and the doctrine of popular sovereignly,
so ably championed by her great statesman Cass. The reaction of the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill upon local politics, Michigan's part in the Kansas
Crusade, and the career of the Know-Nothing Party in Michigan are
good themes.
Next, perhaps, in importance are the unworked social fields, such as
the development of a city laboring class as distinct from the farmer
class, and the effect of this development upon politics. The Under-
ground Kailroad in Michigan and the resulting negro population with
the social problems outgrowing is not an unworthy theme. The amelio-
ration of the criminal code, the passing of capital punishment, and the
softening of other penalties, and also the state charity institutions will
amply pay the thesis seeker. The source and evolution of Michigan's
advanced views on these subjects, the story of the leaders of reform,
and the development of the local system of caring for the poor can be
profitably studied. There should be a careful historical investigation
of the Dutch in western Michigan, their industrial and social habits,
their attitude toward political controversies, and their general influ-
ence upon their section. The other race elements too should be in-
vestigated, their relative proportions and social influence. Finally an
interesting study could be made of sectarian influences in the State,
and of conflicts in relation to school and university matters.
The greatest amount of work is yet to be done in the economic field.
The evolution of the lumber, iron, coal, salt and woolen industries has
never been carefully traced. Some of our histories barely mention that
we had a veritable "Klondike" in Michigan, the "Copper Fever" in 1845
which became an epidemic over the whole country, — an event only second
in its picturesque history to the ±$ers' story in California — but the
152 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
evolution and romantic story of the copper mining thereafter has never
been told. Then there is Michigan's agricultural history, the early rude
methods, and as a result of inventions and better knowledge their
gradual modification and change so told as to show the evolution of
our present system. The rise and development of manufactures in
Michigan, the inducements to establish, the failures and successes result-
ing from inexorable natural laws, all these themes offer temptation to
the patient student.
Michigan's commerce, too, both inland and on the Great Lakes is worthy
of full exposition. The development and decay of the Michigan fur-
trade, with its influence upon those who followed it, is a subject of
romantic interest. Michigan's share in the trade with the Southwest
before the war will help explain the attitude of her citizens on the
slavery issues. We want more about the development of our railroads,
their influence on politics, and Michigan's early experience in the State
ownership of railroads, so studied as to show how far early social con-
ditions were responsible for failure. There is too the study of the
evolution of Michigan's banking system, ably treated by Judge Coojey
in the period of the thirties, but not later. The panics of 1857 and
1873 deserve the same treatment accorded that of 1837.
All of the subjects which I have so tediously catalogued, and many
more, need careful monographic treatment. A mere analystic presenta-
tion of them -will not do, but there should be a scientific arrangement
of the,facts as to institutions, political, economic, or social, which will
reveal their growth and show their influence upon the other institu-
tions which enter into the social whole. This cannot be done, of course,
until we have gathered a vast amount of material, pamphlets, news-
papers, letters and diaries of prominent statesmen and politicians, local
records of every sort, in some accessible place or places, and this latter
work cannot be done by the devotion and zeal of a single individual,
even though, like our honored President, he is willing to give his time
and fortune unremittingly to the gigantic task. Is it not the function
of this society — every member of it — to devote some energy to the
assembling of material of this kind at some convenient point, at Lansing,
Detroit, or at the University, and to use every legitimate influence to get
the legislature of this State to grant money for this purpose as liber-
ally as the legislatures of our sister State, Wisconsin, which does not
hesitate to grant — 2 each year to that end. There should be
no delay, for so rapidly does historical material disappear, if not con-
served in some public archives under scientific care, that every day of
procrastination menaces the integrity of any future history of our
State. All available source material should be, as soon as possible,
2This sum has increased from $20,000 in 1907 to $31,000 in 1910, and an endow-
ment to carry on the work swells the sum to more than double.
THE LOST FINCH BOY 153
placed where it will be preserved and catalogued for use. When that is
accomplished we may hope that students, either with the scholarship
ripe for the purpose and knowledge of the methods of research which
I have sketched above, or under the guidance of a trained investigator,
may repair to these repositories and work out these preliminary studies
which will make possible a scientific history worthy of Michigan's posi-
tion among the states of our Union.
THE LOST FINCH BOY
BY JOHN E. DAY1
Albert Finch, senior member of the Finch family, of New York state,
was born in Dutchess County, New York, in the year 1775. The family
were old residents of New England and had drifted westward with the
tide of emigration in hopes of finding an Eldorado or, at least, some-
thing better than the East had to offer. In the year 1800 he moved
to Ontario County, in the same state, which move was then called "going
West." He purchased land and made a home and was neighbor to the
Baileys and the Gateses, earliest settlers in what is now the village
of Eomeo, having reached that spot in 1822. They had sent home such
flattering reports of .the location and of their surroundings that in 1823
Mr. Finch was induced to again move farther west, so selling his partly
improved farm, where his children had been born and most of them
grown to maturity, he started for Michigan in general and Asahel
Bailey's in particular. He set out in the month of March with a yoke
of oxen and sled, together with a son and daughter and some provisions
and blankets, across Canada for Detroit and the territory of Michigan.
Fifteen days were occupied in reaching Detroit, following the nearest
route then opened to the River Thames. On reaching this river they
traveled part of the way on the ice toward Lake St. Glair, then took
the ice to Detroit. After starting the weather warmed up and the
ice softened so as to be dangerous and the traveling tedious and un-
comfortable. The ice was covered with water and the road very muddy,
so they plodded along in a slow and dreary way. An open sled, uncer-
tain roads, a slow team, through a thinly settled country, out early and
up late, riding when too tired to walk and walking when too cold to ride,
it was in no sense a pleasure trip. They reached Detroit at last, only
to find that the snow was all melted and that going farther in that
way was out of the question. So the oxen and the daughter were left
and Mr. Finch and Sylvester started for the Hoxie Settlement (now
'Paper read at annual meeting, ]908.
154 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Borneo) on foot by the blazed trail. Then went by way of Royal Oak
and Utica, crossing streams on logs when bridges were missing and
wading when there were no logs, and reached the Baileys on a Saturday
night wet, weary and welcome.
Arrangements for the location of suitable land for a home had already
been made by the Baileys. The next Monday was spent in looking for
a wagon with which to make the trip to Detroit to fetch the girl and
the equipments left behind. The wagon they hired of Mr. Lazarus Green,
six miles south of Romeo, for one dollar. He asserted that for any
purpose than that of moving in a settler they could not have it at any
price.
Tuesday morning Mr. Finch and the two Baileys started for Detroit,
which place they reached some time next day. In the meantime it had
rained and turned colder, and on their return, as they reached the
flats south of Utica, they found them completely submerged and frozen
over to the thickness of one inch. The horses refused to break their
way against such an obstacle, and so one man went ahead of the team
and broke the ice with a club, while the others managed the team. Night
came on and they lost the trail, so they were forced to abandon the
wagon, get out the teams and seek for shelter. They found the hut of
a man who had just settled there and who was alone and had little to eat,
but was willing to do for them what he could. He gave the team some
marsh hay, but the people went to bed hungry and with wet clothes laid
down on the floor, with scanty covering, and passed a dismal night. As
soon as it was light they returned to the wagon, recovered the trail and
on crossing the flats found a backwoods tavern of logs and bark, where
they dried their clothes and got some breakfast. They reached Bailey's
on Friday night and on Saturday returned the wagon, .thus spending
just a week in making the trip of thirty-five miles and getting and
returning the wagon. A log house was soon erected, corn and potatoes
were planted, and in June Mr. Finch went back to the old home in
Ontario County to move the remainder of his family and his goods.
The journey was made with horses and wagon over nearly the same
route, but in much less time and with much greater comfort. Mr. Finch
had told Sylvester, when he left, to be sure and have some venison killed
by the time they got back; "for," said he, "your mother will be tired
and homesick and will need something to chirk her up."
On the morning of the day they were expected Sylvester went about
a mile from the house and shot a large buck, and some of the choicest
portions were put in the long handled pan by the fire ready to cook
at an instant's notice. Then as evening came on they listened for the
sound of the wheels which should herald the approach of the company.
The waiting and listening lasted until nearly morning, when both
THE LOST FINCH BOY 155
brother and sister fell fast asleep, and so the family found them. The
horses, jaded by the hard and long drive, had completely failed and all
the company had been forced to make the latter part of the journey on
foot, Mrs. Finch carrying in her arms the little boy Alanson — who was
lost — then something less than a year old. Their clothes were wet and
they were tired, faint and half starved, and Mrs. Finch was too ex-
hausted to eat the venison prepared for her. The family thus united
in their new home were happy, prosperous and useful. Mr. Finch's
barn was the first in the settlement, and was used for a meeting-house
for the Methodist Episcopal people whenever they could get a minister
to serve them. It was in his house that the first Methodist Episcopal
class was formed.
In the early spring of 1829, the roads became so intolerably muddy
that it was thought best to dismiss the school for two weeks. Mr. Finch
was boiling sap about one-half mile from the house and the little boy,
Alanson, about five years old, and a brother, a year or two older, went
one afternoon to the sugar bush. As night came on their father started
them for home. As they proceeded Alanson said he wanted to go by
the schoolhouse and see a well that he and some playmates had dug
the day before. The brother objected to this and so they separated,
Alanson going to the schoolhouse and the brother went straight home
and told his mother that Alanson had gone by the way of the school-
house and would be along in a few minutes. But the few minutes did
not bring him and as it became dark the mother went in search of him,
but without success. Then an alarm was raised and neighbors called
in to aid in the search. All night, next day and every day for two
weeks parties tramped back and forth through the woods, each day
hoping and expecting to find at least some trace of him, or evidence of
where he had been. My father spent several days in the search, and
I have heard him say that not even a rabbit nor a squirrel could have
been in those woods and not have been noticed by the party of hunters.
Then a company of Indians were hired to continue the search some
days longer; but no trace of him was even discovered and the con-
viction settled upon the community that he had been stolen by the In-
dians. This conviction was strengthened by the fact that a chief of the
Chippewas, Kanobe, had taken a great fancy to the boy, and being a
frequent and familiar visitor at the Finch home would carry Alanson
about in his arms and ask him to go to his wigwam and be his papoose.
This chief disappeared from the settlement about this time, but after-
wards came back and disclaimed all knowledge of the matter. An-
other theory was that the boy had been taken through revenge. The
elder of the Finch boys had had some trouble with the Indians about
some ponies that the Finches had found in the woods, claiming them
156 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to be wild ponies; but the Indians said they were their property. Com-
plaint was made by the chief to Governor Cass, who sent a commission
consisting of Colonel Stockton and E. P. Eldridge, of Mt. Clemens, and
Bela Hubbard, of Detroit, to adjust the affair and pacify the Indians.
The result of the matter was the ponies were given up to the Indians,
but a bad feeling remained, resulting in the abduction, as some thought,
of the little boy. The calamity was keenly felt by the entire commu-
nity, but fell writh fatal effect upon Mr. and Mrs. Finch, for within a
few months they both passed away, within a few days of each other,
borne down with sorrow to an untimely grave. Some years after the event
a young man came to the settlement from the West — then not faraway—
and claimed that he was the lost Finch boy. He was evidently of
white parentage but showed the effects of the life in the open, with
the smoke and tan of the Indian life. He told how he had from ear-
liest remembrance been among the Indians, and they had told him that
he had been stolen from Indian Village when a small child and adopted
by the tribe and removed with them to the West. Many of the old
neighbors of the Finches came to see and talk with the young man, for he
could talk a little English, and found some things about him to confirm
the belief that he was the boy who had been lost. But his stories did not
connect and his habits were such as to make him an undesirable com-
panion, so he returned to the Indian 'life, and the fate of the Finch
boy remained shrouded in mystery that can only be dissolved in that
day when all secrets shall be revealed.
INCIDENTS OF EARLY DAYS IN ALLEGAN COUNTY1
BY MRS. NINA DAUGHERTY
The settling of western Michigan was progressing rapidly in the thir-
ties, one county after another being organized until by the time she
became a State the counties from Detroit clear to the lake were well or-
ganized. March 29, 1833, a law was passed that changed the county
of Allegan to the township of Allegan and made it a part of Kalamazoo
County, and on April 6, 1833, the first township meeting was held in
the house of Samuel Foster in Otsego. In 1835 they petitioned the
legislative council for a separate county organization, which was granted
and became effective September 1, 1835. The following year an act was
approved which divided the county into four townships, viz., Plainfield,
Otsego, Newark and Allegan. Plainfield embraced what is now Gun
read at annual meeting, 1908.
INCIDENTS OF EARLY DAYS IN ALLEGAN COUNTY 157
Plain, Martin, Wayland and Leigkton. Otsego embraced the present
Otsego, Watson, Hopkins and Dorr. Newark embraced the present
townships of Lee, Clyde, Manlius, Fillmore, Casco, Ganges, Saugatuck
and Laketown, while Allegan covered Trowbridge, Allegan, Monterey,
Salem, Cheshire, Pine Plains, Heath and Overisel. These townships
elected supervisors in April. 183G, and the board of supervisors met
October 4 of the same year. By 1861 the boundaries and names of the
present twenty-four townships had been settled and were as they are
now. In the spring of 1830 William G. Butler, of Rochester, N. Y.,
located at what is now Saugatuck, his being the first house in that vil-
lage, and for three years his family were the only white residents of the
western half of the county. In the fall of the same year Giles Scott,
of Rochester, N. Y., with his family settled at the mouth of Pine Creek
in what is now Otsego Township. Dr. Samuel Foster came a little later
in the same year and was the first resident in the corporate limits of
Otsego. The first postoffice in the county was at Otsego and Dr. Fos-
ter was postmaster. This was in 1832.
The first sawmill in the county was built by Turner Aldrich, Jr., of
Lodi, N. Y., on Pine Creek, about a mile from its mouth, in 1831. It
was the old-fashioned perpendicular saw.
The first frame house in the county was built in Gun Plain Township
by Dr. Cyrenus Thompson in the summer of 1832, and the first church in
the county was built in the same township by the Baptist society.
Hon. H. E. Blackmail, of Allegan, says that Alexander Ely (1834)
had secured some land on the Kalamazoo River and hired Leander Prouty
to work for him a year at twelve dollars a month. The Indian trail being
the only road and the only transportation by way of the river, no boat
being at hand, a raft was in order, so Mr. Prouty bought some lumber
at Pine Creek, built a raft and loaded his scanty supplies of household
goods, tools and provisions. Among other things he had with him a
barrel of pork and a plow. On June 6, 1834, he started on his voyage,
accompanied by his wife and Eber Sherwood., also Mr. Crittenden. They
had floated twelve or fifteen miles from Pine Creek and were yet about
eight miles from their destination when their conveyance snagged and
was wrecked to some extent. They lost their plow in the river but secured
it afterward. Late in the evening they landed for the night and Mrs.
Prouty was very much frightened by the howling of the wolves near
the camp. The next day they built a cabin, where they lived the fol-
lowing year. This was the first white man's dwelling on the present site
of Allegan, as well as the first between Pine Creek and the mouth of
the Kalamazoo River.
Mr. Blackman tells the following relative to Alexander Ety: In
November or December, 1834, Mr. Ely, accompanied by another man,
158 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
came to Pine Creek and found the inhabitants raising a barn and, as
whisky was furnished at the raising, some were considerably under its
influence, so they deemed it unsafe to remain for the night, and about
4 o'clock in the afternoon they started by boat for his place,, twenty miles
below. When they were just above the site of the present dam above
Allegan they struck some flood wood, their boat was capsized and both
were thrown into the river. The other man was drowned, but Mr. Ely
swam to the north shore and made for his destination as best he could.
There was no road, it was dark and his clothes were frozen. He was
in a bad way when he heard a dog bark. He went toward the dog and
finally saw a light. He then halloed and an Indian came across the
river to his aid and took him in for the night. The Indian was going
north to Mackinaw the following fall and Mr. Ely fitted him out for his
trip and again in the spring when he returned Mr. Ely aided him and
was always kind to him and finally, when he died, Mr. Ely buried him.
Mr. A. Stillson, of Saugatuck, says the Indian's name was doubt-
less Macsaubee, and that Mr. Ely gave the two Macsaubee boys a good
education, common schools being the best then, and named them Joe and
Louie. Mr. Stillson says he knew them well. They were traders with
the Indians later and considered themselves far superior to the com-
mon Indians. Mr. Blackman tells of a circumstance where an Indian
befriended a white man and later the white man would betray him.
He knew the parties,* but withholds their names, as the white man's
descendants are good people and giving the name might reflect upon
them. The white man was sick and in need and the Indian brought him
food — venison and such other eatables as an Indian can provide. When
the whites were transporting the Indians West to Indian Territory the
man was hired to help hunt them. This Indian did not want to go be-
cause the Indians West were his enemies and would kill him, but the
white man persisted in hunting him, so one morning he went to the
home of the white man and said, "Two mornings I have seen you in the
woods looking for me; if I see you again I will shoot you." But he
never had occasion to shoot.
Mr. E. B. Born, of Allegan, says that Jannette E. Prouty, eldest
daughter of Leander S. Prouty, was the first white child born in Allegan.
She married William A. Gibbs, of Portage Township, Kalamazoo
County, on May 10, 1854, and Mr. Born attended the wedding.
Speaking of Portage Township, Kalamazoo County calls to mind, that
it was in those particular "Oak Openings" that Cooper found material
for some of his characters in his delightful novel of that name, and
how passing on down the river to its mouth, he laid the plot, weaving into
the story so much of the romance of which that historical territory
abounds. Many residents of Saugatuck can point you to the exact spot
INCIDENTS OF EARLY DAYS IN ALLEGAN COUNTY 159
where the Bee Hunter concealed his boat and its precious cargo from the
Redskins, and where the cask of liquor was spilled among the rocks and
deluded the Indians with the idea of a whisky spring.
Many years have passed since the swift Indian runners carried to
Ft. Dearborn information of the fall of Michilimackinac, and yet the
Indian trail is plainly marked in this locality. As you are floating
down the Kalamazoo River you are going nearly straight west for some
time before you reach Kalamazoo Lake (an expansion of the river be-
tween Douglas and Saugatuck). At Saugatuck it turns nearly north,
keeping on north by west about a mile, then it turns to the west, and
making a grand curve sweeps on to the south and continues to a point
nearly due west of Saugatuck, when it suddenly bends to the west and
empties into grand old Lake Michigan. In the early days of which I
am writing, at the bend in the river known as the "oxbow," midway
between Saugatuck and the mouth, is located the site of the entirely de-
serted village of Singapore. It was once the most flourishing lumber
manufacturing town in the State. Think of the now entirely submerged
town, once boasting of three large lumber mills, several general stores,
two hotels and a bank issuing its own currency! Over seventy years
ago Mr. O. Wilder made an elaborate map of the town. It had broad
and regularly laid out streets bearing such names as "Broad," "Detroit,"
"Oak/J "Cherry," "Cedar," "River," etc. Its corner lots were at a
premium.
Judge Cooley, in his history of Michigan, quotes as follows from the
Bank Commissioner's reports of the year 1838: "The singular spectacle
was presented of the officers of the State seeking for banks in situa-
tions the most inaccessible and remote from trade, and finding at every
slip an increase of labor by the discovery of new and unknown organi-
zations. ***** One bank was found in a sawmill and it was
said with pardonable exaggeration in one of the public papers, 'Every
village plat with a house, or even without a house, if it had a hollow
stump to serve as a vault, was the site of a bank.' "
H. M. Utley, in Michigan Pioneer Collections, says: "No school boy
ever saw the name of Singapore on his map of Michigan. That was a
happy thought in christening this particular wild cat bank to give it
a name with an East India flavor. It inspired respect. A gentleman
who took the bills because of the mellifluous title of the bank relates a
mournful story of how the aforesaid bank failed while he was travel-
ing about in the western part of the State looking for Singapore."
John P. Wade, of Ganges, now nearly eighty-five years old, recently
gave the following relative to the Singapore bank:
"Oshea Wilder & Co., came to Singapore about 1836 and built the
Singapore Bank. The money was furnished by the Lancaster Bank, of
160 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Lancaster, Mass. The law at this time required that each bank have
on hand a certain amount of specie as a reserve fund at all times, so
it was arranged between the bankers that the right amount be held at
some point 'up country' when the Examiner called first on his round
of inspection. When the specie had been counted at Kalamazoo a special
messenger was hurried ahead of him to Allegan with the bag. After he
had counted it at Allegan another messenger was hurried on to Sing-
apore with the small sack of reserve fund. On one occasion an Indian
was taking the sack from Allegan to Singapore in a canoe and when
between the present site of New Richmond and Saugatuck by an ac-
cident the canoe was capsized and said specie reserve rested in the bot-
tom of the Kalamazoo. The Examiner was detained at New Richmond
and feasted and treated until men could go with the Indian and fish
out the bag and get him started on to Singapore so when the Examiner
came the required amount would be there. So much for the bank in its
flourishing days."
The late Levi Loomis, one of Ganges' first settlers, told the following :
''Mr. Loomis was engaged in the boot and shoe business at Singapore.
His customers offered him pretty pictures of the Singapore Bank in
exchange for his goods and he refused to sell them for anything but
good money. There were about two hundred men in the town and no
other place within miles where boots could be bought. This state of
affairs did not suit the officers of the bank and they went to Mr. Loomis
and told him that if he would sell his goods for their money they would
give him bills on Eastern banks in exchange when his bills became due in
Utica, N. Y., where he purchased his stock. He finally agreed to this
and the whole stock was sold, amounting to about $600. The day was
fixed on which the bank was to redeem the money. Mr. Loomis wisely
made the date a month ahead of the time to pay the Utica dealers, for, as
might be expected, the bank was unprepared when the day arrived and
they put him off with a promise of payment in four days. Then a draft
was made on an Eastern bank and after a short time it was returned as
worthless. Things went on until more than another month had passed
and Mr. Loomis became desperate. His credit and honor depended on
the payment of his debt and he resolved to have good money at any
cost. Hill, the cashier of the bank, slept in a chamber in Loomis' house,
with other boarders, but in a separate bed, and did not rise as early
as the others. Mr. Loomis suspected that Hill carried with him the good
money of the bank and slept with it under his pillow. He formed a plan
and one morning after the others had gone down Mr. Loomis went to
his room, entered and locked the door and wakened Hill, laid the wild cat
bills on the bed, drew a pistol and told him that the exchange must be
made then and there. Hill was surprised and indignant and began to
INCIDENTS OF EARLY DAYS IN ALLEGAN COUNTY 161
protest, saying he could do nothing until he went over to 'the office.'
'I know better,' said Mr. Loomis, 'and you, will not go down these stairs
until you are carried down unless you fulfill your promise and make the
exchange.' These words, with the look of determination and the pistol,
were sufficient and without more ado Hill raised his pillow and took
from a roll, containing about one thousand dollars, the total genuine
capital of the bank, the six hundred dollars, and took the bills in ex-
change. Mr. Loomis was not a man given to extreme measures, but one
of whom it was said in the pioneer days, 'He was always kind, being a
natural nurse and doctor both in sickness, and by reason of his being
handy with carpenter tools, many a loved one was laid away in the
"casket" made by his hands and never was anything done for money/
His son Marion, who lives opposite the old homestead at present, was the
first white child born in the township of Ganges. Mr. Loomis said one
evening in the winter of 1838, he and a man by the name of Moulton
were invited to the house of one of the officers of the Singapore Bank
to witness the destruction of the bills on hand at the time the bank
was suspended. When they arrived they found a table three and one-
half by four feet in size covered with bills in packages, lying in piles
from three to six inches deep. These they were requested to burn in a
stove. This was the closing chapter of the famous Singapore Bank.
Then later the mills closed, and being the industry of the place all other
business places were forced to give way and to-day the sands are drift-
ing over all, burying the last vestige of the place and the waves break-
ing upon the beach seem to chant its requiem. Even one who is fa-
miliar with the facts can scarcely realize, when walking over these bar-
ren, dreary and wind-swept hills that beneath his very feet are the
streets and dwellings of a village that was once a flourishing town."
Late in the fall of 1842 the schooner Milwaukee lay anchored off the
mouth of the Kalamazoo River, taking in flour, which had been floated
down from Kalamazoo. A terrible storm came on from the northwest.
She was driven on shore and wrecked. The whites and Indians hearing
of this took advantage of the situation and secured an ample supply
of this staple for their present use. The flour being in barrels it was
not damaged by the water. That flour was the means of saving much
distress and possibly lives during the following season, as it was the
one remembered and referred to as "that hard winter."
Captain Charles M. Link, of Ganges, says: "The Captain of the Mil-
waukee wanted to make sail and get out to sea that night when the
storm came on, but the crew were timid and would not move the ship.
No doubt the Captain was killed by a man named Williams, one of the
(row, for he was never seen again." Mr. Link built the schooner Trio
at Pier Cove in 1864. He can tell many interesting things relative to
21
162 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL, COL-LECTIONS
the early happenings of the lake shore. Pier Cove is not a buried city<
but it surely is the "Deserted Village/' where once stood four stores,
postoffice, one saloon, hotel, sawmill and gristmill. Not one business
place stands.
"But now the signs of population fail,
No cheerful murmurs fluctuate the gale,
No busy step the grass grown foot may tread,
And all the blooming flush of life is fled."
In the early days the question of mail was a difficult one, only receiv-
ing it about once in two weeks. Sometimes it was taken down the river
from Allegan by Indians in canoes and at other times on a lumber raft.
The postage was twenty-five cents a letter, paid by the receiver, each
extra sheet in a letter being subject to extra postage. To avoid this
excess a sheet of foolscap paper was used as a wrapper, there being no
envelopes then, and the extra was written on this in skim milk. This
could not be seen until heated, when it would come out and be read-
able.
Are the women of to-day as brave as those women of the pioneer days
of Allegan County ? In 1832 Mrs. John P. Wade drove all alone through
the woods from Singapore to Kalamazoo with a six-months-old babe in
her arms. The only house on the road between Singapore and Allegan
was the famous old "Pine Plains Tavern,'7 located about five miles east of
Fennville. She saw many wild animals on her way, but reached her
destination without mishap and is living to-day, enjoying the best of
health in her Ganges home.
The Rossiter was the first steamer to enter the Kalamazoo River. It
was owned and sailed by Captain Robinson, a one-armed man. The
first line steamer to sail between Saugatuck and Chicago was the Ira
C. Chaffee, Captain Costam and Engineer George Dutcher.
Elisha Weed, who died about five years ago in Casco township, claim-
ed to have been the second white man to settle in Southwestern Mich-
igan and to have built the first sawmill operated in Saugatuck. In
those days of the unbroken forest, wrho could prophesy of the enterpris-
ing villages that now dot the county, and that the lake shore would
sometime become the center of an immense fruit industry? The
swamps seemed then such a waste and to contain germs for so much
malaria, but now they are covered with fragrant fields of peppermint
and yield a good profit. Where the village of Fennville now stands was
once only a swamp.
The late Mrs. Laura C. Hutchins, from whose prolific pen has come
some of our most authentic pioneer history of the western part of the
county, tells of the first Fourth of July celebration in "The Woods"
in 1849:
MICHIGAN'S LAND BOUNDARY 163
"At the time all the dwellings between the old Bailey mill (four
miles southeast of Fennville) and what we know as Peachbelt (three
miles west of Fennville) were those of George Veeder, John Billings,
Walter Billings, James Wadsworth and Harrison Hutchins. Charles
Billings, Levi Loomis and Nathan Slayton were neighbors off from the
road. Beyond Peachbelt lived James Wadsworth, Cyrus Cowles and
Henry Barrager. Still farther on lived John Goodeve, and on the lake
shore road James Haile and Banner Seymour. These were all, or until
you reached Saugatuck or 'The Flats/ as it was usually called. Mrs.
Hutchins and her family were invited to attend the picnic near the
Veeder house on this Fourth of July and to furnish bread for the oc-
casion. She accordingly made a loaf in a milk pan of the delicious old
'salt rising,' baking it in the great brick oven. 'Elder Grant,' the Metho-
dist Episcopal presiding elder, was present and read the Declaration of
Independence. Songs were sung and when dinner was announced John
Billings, for drollery and to please the small boys, led the procession
as they marched to the table, facetiously tooting upon an old fife, with-
out time or tune."
Mrs. Hutchins wrote many poems relative to pioneer life, weaving in
the names of those early settlers and their families, and we think as
we read them, with their touches of humor, she must have thought like
Kipling:
I have written the tale of our life
For a sheltered people's mirth,
In jesting guise — but ye are wise,
And ye know what the jest is worth.
MICHIGAN'S LAND BOUNDARY1
BY GEORGE H. CANNON2
The State of Michigan comprises two peninsulas. The lower, or that
portion south of the Straits, [of Mackinaw] has a natural boundary
on all sides excepting on the south, which has an extent of land 222
miles long. An authority states that politically it has 708.5 miles
coterminous with Canada, 55.5 miles coterminous with Minnesota, 574
miles coterminous with Wisconsin, 58 miles bordering on Illinois, 129.2
*Anna May Soule wrote a paper on Michigan's boundaries, see Vol. XXVII,
p. 378, this series. Mr. Cannon wrote a paper on "Our Western Boundary," see
Vol. XXX, p. 244, this series. Prof. Larzelere has the same subject, Vol. XXX,
p. 1.
2Read at the annual meeting, June 4, 1908.
164 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
miles bordering on Indiana and 92.8 miles on Ohio. The waterline
consists of Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, St. Glair and the St. Glair
and Detroit rivers.
Turning now to the Upper Peninsula and beginning at Island Lake,
the headwaters of the Montreal River as well as the extreme south-
western limit of the State in that quarter, we follow that river as the
boundary line to Lake Superior, and in that lake to the St. Mary's
River at the Soo, thence with that river to the upper portion of Lake
Huron, the Straits of Mackinac, the upper portion of Lake Michigan,
to the mouth of the Menominee River and with that river to its branch,
the Brule, to the lake of the same name, which is the terminus of the
natural water portion of the boundary line. From Lake Brule we may
pass overland some fourteen miles to Lake Vieux Desert, thence a dis-
tance of some sixty miles by land to Island Lake, our place of begin-
ning. This gives us less than eighty miles of land boundary in the
northern peninsula, but it is however some ten miles greater than the
present line terminating on the east branch of the Montreal River. It
will thus be seen that the entire length of the land boundary for the
state is somewhat less than 300 miles, while its waterline is said to
measure 1,620 miles of lake and river.
It is the line that lies between Lake Vieux Desert and Island Lake
that we are mainly considering in this paper.
In the summer of 1885 the writer with a party of men was occupied
in an exploration for mineral and timber in the vicinity of and along
the Montreal River. During the season the whole length of that river
was traversed from its source in Island Lake to its discharge in Lake
Superior, as well as to its largest affluent, or East Branch, which is-
sues from a lake some two miles long by half a mile wide, called Pine
Lake. Knowing full well that the boundary of our state was the Mont-
real River, he was surprised to find that the line as marked did not
reach that river at all but terminated on the East Branch at a point
on that stream about midway of its length. Becoming interested in
the work of the State Pioneer and Historical Society, it was deemed
advisable to make a study of the subject in order to learn, if he could,
why the line of boundary had not been run to the main river as it
should have been and as the law required.
With this object in view copies of all papers bearing upon the subject
wherever available were procured. These were largely obtained through
the courtesy of the late Senator Alger and comprise the following Let-
ters of Instructions from Colonel Abert,3 Chief of the Topographical
3Col. John James Abert was born Sept. 17, 1788, and graduated from West Point,
1811. He served in the war of 1812 and in 1814 was appointed topographical
engineer with rank of major. In 1838 he became colonel in command of that
branch of the engineers. In 1861 he returned and died on Sept. 27, 1863. His
son, James William, was also a topographical engineer and was engaged on the
survey of the northern lakes in 1843-4.
MICHIGAN'S LAND BOUNDARY 165
Engineers, July 30th, 1840 and March 31st, 1841; the several acts of
Congress making appropriations for the survey as follows, that of June
12, 1838, authorizing $3,000, March 3, 1841, $6,000, May 18, 1842, $7,000
and of August 10, 1848, $1,000, of this sum of $17,000 some less than
one-half was expended by Captain Cram4 on the actual survey, while the
last appropriation was paid to William A. Burt5 who finally establish-
ed the line as marked out by Captain Cram;6 also the Act of Congress
of June 15, 1836; the Act of July 20, 1840 authorized the Secretary of
War to "ascertain and designate the boundary" (which duty under the
Act of July 12, 1838, had been assigned to the surveyor-general of the
district by whom no surveys were begun). See Captain Cram's reports
Senate Documents7 No. 151, 26 Congress 2nd session and Senate Docu-
ment No. 170, 27 Congress 2nd session, the Act of Congress August 6,
1846, for the admission of the State of Wisconsin into the Union and
Senate Document No. 2, 30 Congress 1st session. Aside from these the
archives at Lansing were freely drawn upon, giving all needed informa-
tion in regard to the establishment of the line as we now have it.
An examination of these papers appear to show that Congress designed
the survey to be made by the surveyor-general northwest of the Ohio, and
the President issued an order to that effect January 27, 1841. Never-
theless the order was suspended for the time being at least and the
work turned over to the War Department. Subsequent events show that
this change was most unfortunate for the State, because had the survey
been done under the direction of the surveyor-general the boundary line
would have been made in the exact terms of the enabling act admitting
the State into the Union and would have extended from Island Lake,
the headwaters of the Montreal River, to Lake Vieux Desert. Lucius
Lyon was at the time surveyor-general of the district. He had had much
to do with the discussion of the boundary question in all its phases
and no one can entertain a doubt but that in his hands the letter of the
law would have been fully complied with. Captain Cram, of the Topo-
graphical Engineers, was detailed to do the work. The act pertaining
to that portion is as follows: "To the mouth of the Montreal river
thence through middle of the main channel of the said Montreal river
to the head waters thereof."
4Thomas Jefferson Cram was born about 1807 and died Dec. 20, 1883. He gradu-
ated at the United States Military Academy in 1826. In 1836 he accepted a posi-
tion as assistant engineer on railroads in Maryland and Pennsylvania, which he
held two years. In 1838 he was appointed with rank of captain and served as
topographical engineer on several surveys. He steadily rose in rank, served in
the Civil War and was breveted brigadier-general and major-general for his
services.
5See Vol. V, pp. 115-123, this series.
6Peter White became so much interested in this question that he had the bound-
ary resurveyed at his own expense and the Constitutional Convention of
Michigan for 1907 adopted his views upon the ownership of that tract of land. See
Sketch of Peter White, Vol. XXXVII, p. 635, this series.
7See map attached to this survey, Vol. XXVII, facing p. 387, this series.
166 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL. COLLECTIONS
This language would indicate the course that the surveyor should
pursue in tracing out the boundary line and one which, if followed,
could admit of no error, as he would simply follow the river to its
source. As yet this has not been done and until it is we may fail to
claim a legal boundary. On this work Captain Cram spent two seasons
in that region in an attempt to rightly locate the line but made no
effort to establish or mark it. He, however, did determine a point for
the extreme southwestern corner of the State in the Upper Peninsula.
He no doubt was familiar in making the survey of rivers, lakes, bays and
harbors, taking soundings and tracing channels in navigable streams,
an altogether different matter from making surveys in a densely wooded
country where there were often many difficulties to be met with and
overcome. At times swamps would have to be traversed as well as al-
most impenetrable windfalls and thickets; lakes, rivers and marshes
often to be crossed; and if in mid-summer, clouds of mosquitoes, black
flies and gnats (the Indians' ano-seeums") were ever present day and
night to make one's existence almost intolerable. These were no in-
ducement to prolong one's stay in the wilderness and did not invite to
a thorough exploration of the region and may have aided, in a limited
sense at least, in an apparent neglect of that important portion of the
fieldwork doubly necessary in this case. However this may be, the
appropriation for the work had become exhausted and no doubt he dis-
liked to go before Congress and ask for more money and another sea-
son's work in that hardly accessible and wilderness region, a country
without inhabitants and without prospect of any.
In justice to Captain Cram it is well to remember that in his ex-
plorations then he had given to the public much valuable information,
well worth all that it had cost, had determined the fact that there was
no naturally defined boundary between the Lake Vieux Desert and the
Montreal River, that that river did not issue from that lake as had been
supposed, and in consequence a water boundary encircling the Penin-
sula did not exist.
Captain Cram was an officer of great merit, and it seems strange to
us that he should have left the field with his work unfinished. How-
ever his report was accepted by the authorities at Washington and so
remains. Until the United States surveys were extended over that
region it was not known that the Montreal River had not been followed
up as the boundary line or that the headwaters of the river was a lake
of large extent with an area of some two thousand acres, a well defined
and admirable locality for the boundary terminal of which there could
be no mistake. This being so obvious, the error so clear, and the claim
of the State to extend its jurisdiction over the territory so just, that
the legislature passed a joint resolution February 28th, 1907, looking
to an investigation of the subject. The resolution is as follows :
MICHIGAN'S LAND BOUNDARY 167
"Resolved, by the house, the senate concurring, That the governor be
authorized and empowered to appoint and designate a resident of this
state to represent the state of Michigan in presenting the matter to the
legislature of the state of Wisconsin to the end and for the purpose of
securing the co-operation of said state and the appointment or designa-
tion of a commission from the state of Wisconsin to act jointly with
a similar commission, to be appointed to represent the state of Michigan,
in determining the actual boundary existing between the two states,
in accordance with the act of congress, admitting the state of Michigan
into the union, approved June 15th, 1836."
Many prominent men of affairs and influence in the state had become
interested in the subject. Among them Hon. Peter White, of the Upper
Peninsula,8 had thoroughly investigated the situation. He was appointed
by the governor and his acceptance of the trust gave universal satis-
faction. He was received by Governor Davison with courtesy and given
a hearing before the authorities there, and leaving some circulars with
the committee on boundaries for inspection, he departed, agreeing how-
ever, to return within a month to learn of the result of his effort on
the part of the State. Making a second visit to the capitol, it was known
that no action would be taken looking even to an investigation of the
question, based mainly on the length of time that had elapsed since the
line had been established.
Notwithstanding the failure to acquiesce in an investigation, the legis-
lature passed a concurrent resolution May 29th, 1907, house resolution
No. 71, "Resolved, by the house, the senate concurring, That the at-
torney-general of the state be and he hereby is authorized and directed
to cause a survey to be made of so much of the boundary line between
said states as is claimed to be incorrect, and to institute the necessary
proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction or otherwise to secure
a determination of the correct boundary line between the state of Mich-
igan and the state of Wisconsin."
Such is the situation in 1908, and in view of the political excitement
of the presidential year, no active measures are likely to be taken this
season. However this may be, or whether the state of Michigan can
even occupy the territory so justly hers, the fact must remain as an
8On June 15, 1836, the bill was passed admitting Michigan to the United States
as a state on equal footing with others. On the same day the bill deciding the
boundary between Ohio and Michigan was passed and the limits of the state were
described. In Statutes at Large, Vol. V, pp. 10, 49, the boundary between Michi-
gan and Wisconsin is given for the first time. At that time it was supposed to
be a waterway. Capt. Cram discovered the mistake and that it was impossible
to carry out. William A. Burt marked out the boundary that Cram had desig-
nated, establishing the line. This called forth a lamentation from Wisconsin in
the form of a "Report of a Select Committee on the Infringement of Boundaries,
made in Council of Wisconsin Territory, Dec. 18, 1843," on page 16. Wisconsin
claimed all the lands lying west of a line passing through the Straits of Michili-
mackinac north to Lake Superior.
168 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
historical truth, that the government agent erroneously located the line
and that the United States Government has failed as yet to correct the
error.
The territory claimed is approximately close to three hundred and
sixty square miles, and is believed to be the only instance in this nation
where two sovereign states are occupying a dividing line of doubtful
legality, merely by common consent.
It is not however so much the value of the territory involved in this
controversy, although very large, as is the question of right which ought
alone to govern in its settlement.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. NANCY CAREY
Mrs. Nancy Carey died at her home in Charlotte, Michigan, August
17, 1909, aged ninety-seven years. The story of her interesting life is
best told by herself in a letter1 which she left to her children, and reads
as follows:
"Charlotte, Eaton County.
Dear Children :
I thought I would write my life history, so you can see the trials and
privations I have had to go through with. I was born August 13, 1812,
in Lewiston, Niagara County, New York. I was born on the line be-
tween Canada and New York, my father being there to guard the fort.
I lived there until July 17th, 1832. Then I was married to C. L. Carey,
missionary among the Indians. As soon as we were married, we went
to Porter, N. Y. We remained there three years. While there, John
F. Carey was born, April 4th, 1833. George W. Carey was born March
5th, 1835.
When George was ten weeks old, we went to Tuscarora village with
the Indians. One week later my father sent for me to come to the bed-
side of my mother, who was very sick. My mother lived just two weeks,
holding my babe in her arms. I remained with my father until Septem-
ber, then my husband came and we crossed the line into Canada, my
brother accompanying me to St. Catherine, Canada. We met the Indians
at Grand River. We traveled with my own team to Moravian Town.
There my husband sold my team and earthly possessions. He promised
to take^me to my sister in Cooperstown,2 Kalamazoo County, but we
did not get there. He and the Indians took a different route. On foot,
'Read at the annual meeting, June, 1908.
There is a Cooper township, postoffice and station in Kalamazoo county and
undoubtedly one of these is meant.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. NANCY CAREY 169
one child on my back, the other in my arms. We traveled this way two
or three weeks until we reached Alton, 111. We camped there two
weeks. We crossed the Mississippi river and came to a place called
Blacksnake. We were traveling with Indians called Tuscaroras. At
Blacksnake I and the children were taken sick. The water was poor.
The Chief, William Ohuic, said that I and four squaws should go home.
He sent for Mr. Carey and ten Indians to take us home. We traveled
to Detroit, from Detroit to Windsor, from Windsor to Chatham, from
Chatham to Moravian Town. I was there three weeks. We were sent
to Dover on the Thames River, while there, my daughter, Etta Maria
was born, April 13th, 1837. Soon after she was born, the rebellion of
Canada broke out. Mr. Carey and his partner took a canoe and went
down the river to Detroit. They remained there until the war was over.
They left me with the French and Indians. When able to work, I went
to spinning for two families. The squaws were good to me. I remained
in Canada nine years. Rachel Jane was born September 26th, 1838.
Joseph Thomas was born February 24th, 1839. Calvin was born June
10th, 1842.
While in Canada I got a team of French horses. In 1844 Mr. Carey
was taken sick. I sold all my possessions but my team and got a wagon
and harness. I wished to go to my old home in New York, so I put
Mr. Carry on a bed in the wagon, and with my six small
children, drove through myself. I remained there one year.
While there, Mr. Carey sold all I possessed, consisting of my
team and wagon. My cousin hearing of my misfortune sent
me means to come to St. Catherine, Canada, where he lived, so he could
help me. I remained there one year. David L. was born May llth,
1846. Mr. Carey was taken sick and again wished to go to the old
home in New York. He was helpless most of the time. My cousin gave
me means to take him home. June 8th, 1850 David L. died. Mr. Carey
died November 10th, 1854. I remained there two years after he died.
Then I went to Tuscarora village. I remained there six years. There
my boys went to school. Then the war of the Rebellion broke out.
There were eighteen enlisted out of the school, two of whom were my
sons. I volunteered as nurse for the field. I went to Washington,
where Abe Lincoln promoted me. He gave me a pass to go east or west,
north or south, as far as I could go. I joined my regiment at Alexandria,
Va., 105th New York, Second Irish Brigade, Eighth Corps. I went with
them to Warrenton. I remained there three weeks, caring for the sick
and wounded. While there I became sunstruck. They took me to a
farm house, Henry Lampton's. I was cared for there three weeks. Then
I joined my regiment at Culpepper. They gave me a horse from the
corral and I started for Culpepper. Instead of taking the right hand
170 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
road, I took the left and rode into Lee's Guerillas. They said I was a
northern woman and I said "Yes, and you are a southern man." One
man reached for my bridle and I wheeled my horse and when I turned
and rode away, they shot my horse in the flank near Waterloo Bridge.
I jumped from my horse and was captured. They took me to Lee and
Longstreet at Waterloo Bridge. When they got me there, they bound
my hands behind my back. I remained with my hands bound four days
and I was fed by a colored lady, Jenny Mack. Then I sent for Stone-
wall Jackson, whom I had known at my old home. He came and soon
as he came he knew me. He asked where my boys were. They were at
Gulpepper. He ordered my hands untied. When untied, my shoulders
and arms were very lame, so he ordered Jenny to bathe me with brandy,
while they were getting dinner. He wrote a letter to Abe Lincoln and
I carried it to him. After dinner we started on horseback, he holding
me on my horse, to Strausburg station, there I was to take the cars
for Washington. I got to Washington and stopped at the Auralla Hotel.
I sent for Abe Lincoln and he came. I gave him the letter Jackson
wrote. He treated me very kindly, and while there, he paid my expenses
at the hotel. While there Mr. Lincoln gave me an umbrella, with a
compass in the handle, which I prize very highly. From there I joined
my regiment at Culpepper. I remained with them until after the battle
of Antietam. There is where I met William McKinley. Colonel Carl
was wounded at the battle of Antietam. He was in the hospital at Wash-
ington. I nursed him and soon after he died. He gave me papers to
allow me so much pension a month. I was honorably discharged as a
nurse by my Captain Bradley. The flag was shot out of my boy's hands.
He was wounded. Also Captain Bradley, Lieut. Smith and Col. Shadd
were wounded. Dr. Manasee and I carried the wounded into a barn
and cared for them until I was sent to Washington. Then I was sent
there with five hundred sick and wounded. I was also at the second
battle of Bull Run. I remained there a few weeks, then I went to
Gettysburg, where my youngest boy was wounded. We were sent from
there to Washington and again from there we were sent to West Phila-
delphia Hospital in charge of Dr. Hayes, March 20th, 1865. Me and
my two boys got our honorable discharges, then we came home to Niagara
County, New York. In 1865 me and my youngest boy bought thirty
acres of land then we set out to build a log house. We each bought an
axe. My son would cut down the largest trees and I would trim and
underbrush. I hired two men to help put the house up."
At the annual June meeting, 1908, Mrs. E. E. Spitzer, granddaughter
of Mrs. Carey, displayed the umbrella and the lamp she used while nurse
in the Civil War. Mrs. Carey died in the spring of 1910, at the home
of her daughter, Mrs. Maria Miles of Charlotte, Mich. Mrs. Miles wish-
MRS. LUCINDA HINSDALE STONE 171
ing to have the umbrella safely cared for and displayed in some public
place gave it to the Museum of this Society asking to have attached to
it a type-written placard containing its history.
Mrs. Carey's father was a Knight Templar, her husband a Mason and
she belonged to the order of the Eastern Star. She knew both Gens.
Lee and Longstreet were Masons and was sure they would protect her.
On making her sign to them they both responded and came to her relief,
and assuring her captors that she was no spy but a nurse doing work
ordered her release. She served three vears as a nurse.
MRS. LUCINDA HINSDALE STONE
BY MRS. MARY M. HOYT1
We all cling to the past. It is a part of that craving for immortality
that lies in the heart of all humanity, and wishes not to have the past
forgotten, and so we blow upon their smouldering ashes and revive past
memories. It seems fitting that the memory of this noble woman be
presented before you to-day, but no portrait however well executed could
do her justice, neither can any pen portray the nobility of her nature.
She was one who seemed never to grow old for she possessed that youth-
fulness of heart that in itself is immortality, and when at last the gar-
ment of flesh became threadbare and dropped off, she put on the in-
visible garment of the spirit and she, that had "watched to ease the
burden of the world," passed on "to join the choir invisible."
Lucinda Hinsdale Stone was born at Hinesburg among the Granite
Hills of Vermont, Sept. 30, 1814, and was the youngest of a family of
twelve children which were born to Lucinda Mitchell and Aaron Hins-
dale. The Hinsdale family is undoubtedly from the house de Hiniis-
dale of France whose records go back to 1170. Their Coat-of-Arms is
described in the French records of nobility and can be seen in the Astor
Library. She claimed relationship with Elihu Burritt "the learned
blacksmith" and with Emma Hart Willard of the noted Troy Seminary
of Troy N. Y. She was also related, through her mother, to Maria
Mitchell the astronomer.
The high and steadfast purpose that gives character to a life was hers
even in her young womanhood. Her thirst for knowledge led her to use
all means to secure a good education and through the medium of con-
tinued study her mind became a storehouse of knowledge which served
to develop a prodigious memory. She possessed intuitive knowledge to
at the annual meeting, June 4, 1908.
172 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
a great degree, and saw and recognized the little spark of genius in one
and another, thereby kindling into life many a flame that would other-
wise have been undiscovered. She kept pace with all the various move-
ments of her time, but was always a step in advance. It is rare to find
a woman of advanced years taking as profound an interest in all the
great questions of the day as did she, but to the last she kept her sym-
pathy for the varied interests of men and women and to all the practical
affairs of life, she brought her good judgment of their relative values.
She was a born leader. She met and mingled with many great per-
sonages, and reverence and respect were always given her. Her friends
were not limited to the great and noted. Many whom she loved and
who loved her were very humble folk. "I count nothing human foreign
to me" seemed to be her motto. Her great physical vigor, mental equip-
ment and moral fibre enabled her almost to the last of her long life
to set an example of untiring energy and activity. She radiated a spirit
of vitality and sincerity, of courage and graciousness, such as is given
to few. She possessed a deeply religious nature. She felt that life
was the finest of fine arts, full of days and duties which it was in our
power to make sacred and joyous.
At the age of thirteen she entered Hinesburg Academy and at fifteen
taught a summer country school, returning to the Academy in the fall
and teaching again the next summer. The trustees of the Academy
recognizing her thirst for knowledge gave her the then unheard of
privilege of entering the classes with the young men who were being
fitted for college. She pursued the studies of Greek and Latin with
them. She not only kept up with them but studied music and French
besides. She did not, however, enter Vermont University with them, but
lived to see all restrictions removed from co-education and to see not
only the Vermont University, but a much larger one, i. e. the University
of Michigan open to women and opened by her efforts. The first woman
to enter the university was Madelon Stockwell Turner of Kalamazoo.
Mrs. Stone could not have so earnestly worked for this event but for the
experience gained in early days when such privileges were denied to her
and to all women.2
She came west to Grand Rapids to visit her sister Mrs. Mary Hins-
dale Walker, and there she met again Mr. James A. B. Stone, whose
acquaintance she had made while in Hinesburg, Vt. They were married
June 10, 1840, by the Rev. James Ballard of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Stone
was then twenty-six years old. Three years later in 1843 Dr. Stone was
asked to take charge of a branch of the University of Michigan just
located in Kalamazoo. He accepted and both were soon actively en-
2See Mrs. Stone's History of Co-education in the University of Michigan, Mich.
Pion. and Hist. Colls., Vol. XVIII, p. 411.
MRS. LUCINDA HINSDALE STONE 173
gaged in teaching. They were eminently successful in their calling and
during the next quarter of a century did a work for the cause of educa-
tion in Kalamazoo, that has never been paralleled.
After many years spent in teaching, they traveled abroad. Mrs.
Stone was quick to see the advantages to be gained from studying his-
tory and art from their very origin. Like an inspiration there came to
her the idea of "traveling schools" or classes. This she put into execu-
tion in 1867. Her long experience as a teacher of art, literature and
the languages enabled her to carry out a most valuable itinerary. Eight
times she conducted classes abroad spending from one year to eighteen
mouths each time. On one occasion the tour included Egypt, Palestine
and Syria.
No sketch of Mrs. Stone's life3 would be complete without giving her
ideas upon slavery and woman's suffrage. The latter she ardently de-
sired and did all in her power to advance. She died without seeing
the enfranchisement of women, but she had faith to believe her earnest
prayers would be answered. Mrs. Stone had to go south to learn fully
the meaning of the word "Abolishionist." While teaching in Burlington
Seminary she received an invitation to go south to Mississippi to teach in
the family of a wealthy planter. She had heard of slavery but had no
real idea of its meaning and her first introduction came as she was pass
ing through Natchez to her new place of residence. A, girl stood upon a
block and her good points were being shown off by making her open her
mouth and show her teeth and use her limbs in various antics to test
her agility. The slaves on the plantation where she taught were uncom-
monly well treated, but Ed, the bright, handsome mulatto boy fell into
disgrace one day by sipping some wine that was left in glasses after a
large dinner party given by his master. He was "strung up" and the
plantation slave driver called in to whip him. From her room Mrs. Stone
saw the place and heard the screams of distress, first distinctly and
then dying down as he became insensible. Her little pupils gathered in
her room pale and trembling and through their efforts the poor boy was
let off. Some of the accounts given by Mrs. Stone were equal to any
of Harriet Beecher Stowe's and she gloried in being called an Abolition-
ist in any sense of the word.
After the allotted threescore years and ten at a time when, according
to the traditions of man, women are or were relegated to the chimney-
corner, Mrs. Stone did much of the best work of her life. Returning
from her last journey of foreign travel, made memorable by her travels
in Egypt, and at the age of seventy-six viewing the valley of the Nile
from the top of the Great Pyramid, standing beside Dom Pedro at the
time, she was appointed to organize Isabella Clubs in the Fourth Con-
sketch Mich. Pion. and Hist. Colls., Vol. XXX, p. 289.
174 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
gressional District, so that features of interest in the forthcoming
World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 might be better appreciated by its mem-
bers. She took an unbounded interest in this work, giving regular and
personal attention to it. To accomplish this she traveled several days
in each week, which seemed not to weary her greatly. Each Thursday
found her in her own library in Kalamazoo with the earnest women
composing the Isabella Club of that place gathered about her and it
was here that the true nobility of her nature shone most clearly. Perhaps
none of us have even known or ever may know one who so .constantly
and unremittingly gave herself to the pursuit and dissemination of
knowledge as did she. This merit was recognized by the University of
Michigan when they conferred upon her the degree of Ph. D. in 1891.
The Isabella Clubs throughout the state expired by limitation in the
spring of 1893. A large number of them organized anew, retaining their
membership and taking other names. It was at this juncture that the
Twentieth Century Club of Kalamazoo came into existence, with a large
charter membership and Mrs. Stone was chosen as perpetual president,
which place she filled until her death seven years later, March 14, 1900,
at the age of eighty-six.
Kalamazoo, the former home of Mrs. Stone is noted for its two large
clubs, namely the Ladies' Library Association and the Twentieth Cen-
tury Club, and these have the honor of being the first and the last of
the numerous clubs founded by Mrs. Stone during her life. The first
named, the Ladies' Library Association was founded in 1852 and had
its origin in a history class founded by her which after a few years of
successful study was merged into a literary club with Mrs. Stone as
its president. This association has built for itself a fine building on
Park street in which are gathered choice paintings, statuary and a valu-
able library. It is now in the fifty-seventh year of its existence with
its prosperity fully established. The influence of this club in improv-
ing the culture of the women of Kalamazoo cannot be estimated by this
generation, but will stand as a monument for good in the ages to come.
As has been said the Twentieth Century Club was the last one organ-
ized by Mrs. Stone. Under her fostering care it grew until the library
parlors and hall of her house overflowed, so that new quarters were
sought. These proving unsatisfactory caused the more earnest members
to say "let us arise and build; let us erect a structure of solid stone
corresponding in a degree to the name and character of our beloved
leader, and we will call it 'The Stone Memorial Building.' " Commit-
tees were appointed, locations were viewed, a circular letter was prepared
and sent to leading clubs in the State asking contributions. Personal
contributions were also solicited, the oldest living pupil of Mrs. Stone's
old branch scholars heading the list, Mrs. Phebe Lewis Campau of Kent
MRS. LUCINDA HINSDALE STONE 175
County. Not receiving the help they desired the members began to dis-
play considerable energy in "earning a dollar" and excursions were
planned, one to South Haven which netted a deficit of |3.33. But noth-
ing daunted, a trolley ride to Wood's Lake was undertaken with about
the same result. The deficiencies were bravely met by the few most in-
terested. After all indebtedness was paid the astonishing sum of f 66.10
remained in the hands of the special treasurer, Mrs. Mary M. Hoyt,
for safe keeping, and this sum representing hard work, some failures
and a great many amusing incidents, remained for some time undis-
turbed. These women had indeed builded better than they knew and
when the proper moment for action came that little sum of f 66.10, seem-
ingly so insignificant, leaped from its hiding place, a very giant in power.
In March, 1892, the attention of Mrs. Juliet Goodenow, then President
of the Twentieth Century Club, was directed to this sum by its
treasurer. She quickly saw that here lay an opportunity for great future
good and that by enlisting the co-operation of the State Federation a
grand tribute could be paid to the memory of a noble woman, that would
be more enduring then marble — less perishable than gold. At the next
regular meeting of the Twentieth Century Club the matter was taken up
with great enthusiasm. It was agreed that further contributions be
solicited and the same be used as a nucleus fund for the purpose of secur-
ing a fitting memorial to the memory of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, "Mich-
igan's Mother of Clubs."
The following October the State Federation of Clubs then meeting in
Muskegon, was addressed by Mrs. Goodenow and the sum of |200 raised
by the Twentieth Century Club was offered as a nucleus fund to be added
to by the federated clubs throughout the state, for the purpose as here-
tofore stated. Hearty co-operation was accorded by the Federation and the
sum of 5,000 dollars was pledged by them, the same to be raised by the
various clubs throughout the State for the purpose of endowing a per-
petual scholarship in the University of Michigan for young women de-
siring an education.
The $5,000 was raised and three years later was given to the University
in the fall of 1905. In the year 1906, sums were loaned, without interest,
to three young women, to be repaid by them within three or four years.
The names of the first to be assisted are Miss Hooper, Miss Iveson and
Miss Harper, the last a colored girl who has begun paying back her
loan. In March, 1907, four more were assisted, $250 being divided be-
tween them. March, 1908, four more applied and $500 was divided
among them. And so the "enduring monument" is raised for our beloved
leader and will stand for all time as the grandest memorial it was possi-
ble to raise to the memory of a noble and gifted woman, and the little
sum sown in weakness by a few earnest women is raised in power to
176 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
do good to many. Mrs. Stone, as a type of the new womanhood was in
her life as well as in her death honored and loved by the many who have
and will continue for generations, to "rise up and call her blessed."
(Presentation Speech.)
I have the honor of presenting to you this portrait of Mrs. Lucinda
Hinsdale Stone, commonly known as "Michigan's Mother of Clubs." It
is the joint gift of two literary societies founded by her in Kalamazoo,
i. e. The Ladies' Library Association and The Twentieth Century Club.
The portrait represents the work of an artist of note and ability, Mrs.
Clement Stone of Ann Arbor, a daughter-in-law of the late Mrs. Stone,
who traveled abroad with her and studied under the best masters in
Europe. It was given by the artist to the Twentieth Century Club some
years ago and recently the Ladies Library Association framed it, and
both clubs unite in presenting it to the State Pioneer and Historical So-
ciety for safe-keeping and to more fully establish the fact that Mrs. Stone
has doubtless done more for the cause of education in the State of Mich-
igan than any other woman.
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL
BY MRS. B. F. BATCHELER1
While Michigan was yet a territory. Governor Porter approved an act
March 21, 1833, providing for the laying out of Livingston County,
which was effected three years later. In 1833 John IX Pinckney of
But chess County, New York and George T. Sage of Salem, Washtenaw
County, purchased land, and went back to make preparations for their
return with their families the following year, to sections 35 and 36 in
that portion of the prospective county which later became known as
Livingston Center. They were soon joined by David Austin from Salem ;
settling about him were his four children, Jonathan, Mrs. George Servell,
Mrs. Merritt S. Havens and Mrs. George T. Sage. Some years after Mr.
Sage's death she married Eev. George Jenks of Brighton. After his
demise she returned to her old home in Howell, where she met the sun-
set of life but a few years since. Her son George L. was the first white
child born in Howell, and was at one time part owner and editor of
the Livingston Republican. Mr. Pinckney bought in Detroit four yoke
of oxen and a team of horses with harness and wagon. These horses
aRead before the Howell Woman's Club, Oct. 11, 1907, and th<3 annual meeting
of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, June, 1908.
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL 177
were the first brought into the township. His home, situated in the east-
ern part of the present village, was similar to those of the pioneers of
that time. It was a log house with a single room and without floor,
door or window. When they first took possession, blankets hung over
the openings and a fire was built before the cabin, at night to keep
away the wolves. Boxes in which their goods were brought served as
tables, cupboards and wardrobes, while bedsteads were made from tama-
rack poles. Mr. Pinckney died in 1861 and Mrs. Pinckney was for many
years the earliest settler in the p'lace. James Sage built his house
where that of Mr. William McPherson Jr. now stands, while his son
George T. built his across the way. These two families were the pioneer
settlers in what became the village of Howell.
In 1835 the population on the two sections and two one-half sections
was fully trebled, including those who were prepared to conduct neces-
sary enterprises and took first steps toward founding what was to be-
come the county seat.
Mr. and Mrs. Moses Thompson with their eight children reared their
home at the outlet of the lake which bears their name; he was an honor-
able, energetic man who built the first mill in the town, his son Morris
and others building a flouring mill where Hutchins' mill stands. One
of the daughters married Alvin L. Crittenden and another Ezra Frisbee.
Mr. and Mrs. Frisbee passed away but a few years since. In 1836 cer-
tain land, entered by Mr. Pinckney for his father-in-law, Alexander
Frazer, was transferred, one-third interest to Flavius J. B. Crane and
a two-thirds interest to Edward Brooks, upon which they proceeded to
survey and lay out a village plat and to file the same with the register
of Oakland county, of which this was as yet a part. They laid off a
public square bounded by Grand River, Walnut, Sibley and Center
streets, expecting the county buildings would be located there. As this
was not the case and the public failed to legally accept the gift, it finally
reverted to the original owners, though for years it retained that dis-
tinction and was the scene of festive occasions. Here were the grounds
of the Livingston County Agricultural Fair, when it was first held in
this place in 1854, and the old Presbyterian church served as Floral
Hall. Well do I remember the wonderful doll house in the southeast
corner.
The new village was named by its founders for their friend Thomas
Howell of Canandaigua, N. Y., though that of Livingston Center adhered
to it for some time. Crane and Brooks erected their first building the
next fall, a two story structure where the Opera House now stands.
The lumber was hauled from Woodruff's mills in Green Oak. This was
built to fulfill a promise made at the time of purchase, to relieve the
pressure made by the increasing throng of land seekers upon Mr. Pinck-
23
178 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ney's family for food and lodging, to which they had been obliged largely
to respond. This gave the place a boom, as Amos Adams of Genesee,
N. Y, was installed as landlord of the new Eagle Hotel. Mr. Adams
held several county offices and was repeatedly elected surveyor. He
sold the Eagle to Joseph Steel.
The postoffice was established in 1836 with F. J. B. Crane postmaster,
with the office in the hotel; while the mail route to Kensington and
on to Detroit came the following spring with Lewis Thompson as mail
messenger. Soon the route was extended to Grand Rapids, over which
James R. Sage, aged seventeen made two trips per week. This was
a great improvement over former methods. Postage on a letter, till
1845 was six cents for a distance of thirty miles and twenty-five cents
for over four hundred miles.
The county being organized, the election of officers was held May,
1836, resulting in Justus J. Bennett, sheriff; F. J. B. Crane, county
clerk; Ely Barnard, register of deeds; Amos Adams, treasurer and sur-
veyor.
In September arrived the pioneer blacksmith, William McPherson,
from Scotland with his wife and three children, building a log house
in the west part of the village, buying for the floor the first boards sawed
by Mr. Thompson in his new mill. He worked in his blacksmith shop,
which was on the same lot, for a time with his father-in-law, Andrew
Riddle, and later for six years alone. Mr. Crane bought a small lot of
goods and opened them for sale in the tavern, but the business being
so small they were stored in the attic. In 1837 B. F. Gay, a merchant
from Ann Arbor bought Mr. Crane's remnant of goods and adding to
this making a $2,000 stock, built a store on south side of Sibley street,
Howell's second frame building, which structure served a very general
purpose. Richard Fishbeck was the pioneer shoemaker followed by J.
B. Skilbeck. James White the cabinet maker, and Andrew Hill, who
also made wagons, then W. R. Melvin, James Lawther, Benjamin Sco-
field and William Soule. John R. Keely, a mason was the first of his
trade. Joseph Rowe the first tailor, then Malloy and Herrington. Eli
Carpenter dealt in harnesses and leather goods, Hickey and Galloway
were in foundry business.
The arrival of Dr. Gardner Wheeler the first resident physician, mark-
ed a new era, he remaining till his death. Dr. Curtiss of Kensington
said that he had been physician to nearly every family in Livingston
County when, in 1835 there were not well persons enough to take care
of the sick. Later Dr. Cyrus Wells was often called from Oakland
County to attend Mr. Samuel Waddell, father of A. D. Waddell in 1837,
which was the first death in the town. Dr. Jeffries came in 1839 re-
maining till '43, when Dr. William Huntington took his office and
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL 179
practice, he was a successful physician and an honor to the community
he served so many years. His son William C. is his successor and is
Howell's pioneer physician. Dr. F. H. Marsh came in 1847. Drs.
Spence and Blank in '48; Dr. William L. Wells, son of Dr. Cyrus Wells,
came in '49, and was considered very skillful in his profession. Dr.
Henry J. Rumsey came in '53, and he was a universal favorite, dying
here five years later.
In 1839, Almon Whipple and Mr. Curtis bought the mercantile busi-
ness of Mr. Gay, which Mr. Whipple continued till 1860. The store of
Riddle and Hinman was in the old fort, later Hinman and Bush. The
store of Taylor and McPherson was on the north side of Grand River
street or Main as it was then called, and corner of Walnut; later Mr.
Taylor retired and the firm was afterward known as McPherson and
Riddle. The portion of the building running north and fronting Wal-
nut was the house of the proprietor until the erection of his brick resi-
dence in the then extreme north part of town. Mr. McPherson was
a man of whom Howell was justly proud, both as a business man and
a citizen. He died March 16, 1891, aged 87.
The mercantile firm of Lee and brother, (George W.2 and Frederick
J.3) was established in 1845, Leander C. Smith being their clerk. It
has been said of Col. George W. Lee, among the residents of the village
since 1835, few did more in his day toward its prosperity and the ad-
rancement of its material interests.
The Eagle Hotel built by Mr. Crane was originally 20 x 40 feet in
size but was added to until it was the largest hotel of the place. Steel
sold to Curtis and Gates. Gates soon retired and at Mr. Curtis' death, Mrs.
Curtis and her brother Marvin Gaston continued the business. They sold
to Huntley and son. The building was burned in the big fire of 1857. The
hotel known as the Old Stage House was on south side Grand River
street midway between East and Walnut. Allen C. West on established
a stage route in 1838 between Howell and Detroit and in 1840 he com-
menced this hotel. After his death it was completed by Benjamin J.
Spring the next year, who put on the line the "Red Bird" a clumsy,
open stage wagon, which became somewhat famous. 'Tis said of Mr.
Spring, there never lived a man gifted with keener wit or more mirth-
provoking qualities.
In 1838, Shubal B. Sliter built a pioneer tavern east on what was after-
ward known as the Charles Wilber farm. Gates built the "Union Hall"
in 1845 On the present site of the Jewett block, which after passing
through several hands was burned. The same year E. F. Gay put up
"The Temperance Hotel," the first of its kind in the county, just west
2George W. Lee died in 1882. See sketch,- Vol. VI, p. 458, this series.
'Frederick J. Lee died Feb. 24, 1908, aged eighty-six years and eight months.
180 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL, COLLECTIONS
of the site of the Livingston Hotel, the first brick building in the town.
The bricks were burned on his farm south from here. It is recorded
that the hotels of the place had gained the reputation of being noisy,
boisterous houses and this led Mr. Gay to decide to open a temperance
house where the public could find restful quiet. "Liberty and Temper-
ance/' was his motto. It was, with many, an unpopular sentiment, but
it told for good. After eight years this hotel went into the hands of
Nathaniel Smith, then J. H. Peebles, Charles Barber and Elbert Bush,
when it gave place to the Weimaster block.
The terms of court were held regularly in the new schoolhouse, the
first session opened Nov. 8, 1837. This fact was considered of import-
ance, as it would help to establish Howell as the county seat, for
Brighton strongly contested the honor. Wellington Glover the first
attorney, opened his office the following year. Josiah Turner, a young
lawyer, came here to establish himself in his profession in 1840; later
he built a residence, also an office near by which he occupied many
years, which is now the office of Dr. Browne. After 1857 he became well
and favorably known as Judge of the seventh judicial circuit, a very
popular man and at his passing from earth April 7, 1907, at the age of
ninety-five years, it seemed that one of the last links which bound
HowelFs past and present history was severed. Frederic C. Whipple
came to Howell in 1846 where he spent the remainder of his brilliant pro-
fessional career standing at the head of the bar in Livingston county and
counted one of the best jury lawyers in the state, but his star set be-
hind a cloud of inebriety in 1872. The bar consisted of the Hewitt
brothers, Hill, Ackerson, Dillingham, Lawyer, Ellsworth, Harman,
Wilcox, Hubbell, Clark, Shields and Waddell.
The Livingston Courier, a five-column folio, was published by Nicolas
Sullivan in Brighton, who after nine months came to Howell with the
paper, the first issue here being Oct. 11, 1843. Three years later it was
sold to E. K. Powell then to William B. Smith who conducted the paper
eight years. George P. Root ran it one year, when it ceased to exist.
Harmon and Lewis Smith issued the first number of the Livingston
Republican April 27, 1855, selling four years later to Lee and Sage.
The Livingston Democrat was established by Joseph Titus and son in
in the 1857 on the ruins of the Courier.
Howell's first schoolhouse was built in the spring, 1837, at a cost
of |350.00 by Sardis Davis on a lot presented by Mr. Crane some dis-
tance west from the M. E, Church. It was made of lumber sawed by Mr.
Thompson and the inside wood finish was drawn from Salem or Ply-
mouth. That summer Miss Abigail, daughter of Amos Adams was in-
stalled as first teacher. Next winter Justin Durfee taught, then E. F.
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL 181
Burt for four years. William Pitt Glover4 followed who had the reputa-
tion of using severe methods of punishment; then came W. O. Archer,
H. H. Harmon and John Dixon, besides Miss Farnsworth, Miss Water-
man and Miss Maryette Rumsey, now Mrs. L. G. Crittenden of Osceola,
who can relate many an interesting incident of those days, and Mrs.
J. B. Skilbeck all of whom taught here or in rented rooms. The school-
house, though an important factor, soon proved insufficient. In 1845
it was decided they must have more room but it was not till the fall
of ?49, after repeated attempts, that the two-story brick 26 x 36 was com-
pleted. The site after a long and hard fought battle was secured away
out in the woods where the Central now stands and cost fl,000. Be-
fore a year passed this was found to be inadequate and other rooms
were hired to accommodate the pupils. As the aim was a union school,
a vote was carried to add to the south end of the school building, mak-
ing it twice the former size. This was completed October 1, 1856 at
a cost of |750.00. For a time there was room enough but in less than
ten years, it became evident that a large and commodius structure could
not be much longer delayed. In 1869, this Union schoolhouse5 was replaced
by the present beautiful central school building at a cost of over $31,000.
The first brick building was in use nineteen years, and the following
teachers were employed there: W. Wills, John S. Dixon, Seth Beden,
J. E. Brown, J. S. Huston. After the building was enlarged, the
school was graded with grammer, intermediate and primary depart-
ments with F. W. Munson teacher then D. Cramer and Charles W.
Bowen, under him. Later the schools were regraded. The first course
of study for the High School was arranged by Rufus T. Bush and
adopted by the board in 1862. The instructors were Michael McKernan,
S. S. Babcock, Joshua S. Lane and L. S. Montague after the old build-
ing gave place to the new one. In 1850, Mary, daughter of Caleb Curtis
and later Mrs. J. G. Mason, was a teacher, and with us until recent
years. Miss Laurilla Lee was a trusted teacher of the juveniles, and
Emma Sickles for many years, a satisfactory teacher of a select school.
About 1857 she associated with herself Mrs. Rosina L. Dayfoot, a grad-
uate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, Mass., and niece of Mary Lyon the
founder of that notable institution. After one term Mrs. Dayfoot
opened a school of her own, employing a corps of teachers as the needs
demanded, remaining in Howell eight or nine years. She was a teacher
of rare ability, and her work here probably did much toward arousing
the officials of the public schools to the necessity of adopting a course of
'William Pitt Glover. In 1846 Mr. Glover opened a private school, "The Howell
Academy." It never became very prosperous and after a short time ceased to
exist.
5Mr. VanBuren describes the aims and methods of Union schools in an article
in Vol. XVIII, pp. 561-570, this series.
182 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL, COLLECTIONS
study. She was ever careful for the moral and spiritual uplift of those
under her care and her influence for good was helpful to a large num-
ber of the young people of Livingston county as well as adjoining
counties.
Our authority concerning the earliest religious services held at Living-
ston Center, or Howell is Eev. Alvin L. Crittenden, from whose report
I gather the following. "Deacon Israel Branch went to Amos Adams
and asked permission to hold meetings in the sitting room of the new
hotel, which was granted. The announcement was made and on Sab-
bath morning late in 1835, a goodly number assembled. The deacon con-
ducted the meeting, reading one of Dr. Payson's sermons." These ser-
vices were continued with the assistance of Mr. Crittenden. The fol-
lowing April Mr. Crittenden learned there was to be Methodist preach-
ing at Ore Creek, now Brighton. He went there and listened to Elder
Bibbins and four weeks later went again to a two days meeting, making
both trips on foot. At this time plans were laid for Mr. Cosart to come
to Howell and preach, and form, which he did, a Methodist class, consist-
ing of Alvin L. Crittenden, Pardon Barnard, Eliza Ann Barnard, Peter
Brewer, Dorcas Brewer, Sylvester Rounds, Polly Eounds, Asahel Rounds,
Mary Sage, Nathaniel Johnson, Clarissa Johnson, Asahel Dibble,
Abigail Dibble and Abigail Smith. The following fall 1836, Washing-
ton Jackson was sent to Livingston county as a missionary from the Ohio
conference which at that time included all Eastern Michigan. That year
Messrs. Crittenden and Pardon Barnard were licensed as exhorters. A
circuit of eleven appointments was laid out under the care of Rev. F.
Britten, a circuit rider, and following him in order were the Revs. O.
N. Goodale, G. W. Brower, Steven C. Woodard, John Scottford, J. Casart,
R. Pengelly, F. Bessey, R, C. Crawford,6 B. A. Curtiss, Thomas Wake-
land, Revs. Strambaugh and R. W. Donalson. My earliest ministerial
recollections are of him because he took me to ride in his new jumper7
sixty years ago. F. W. Warren8 for whom we all have kindly remem-
brances was one of the earliest resident pastors. Following him were E.
W* Borden, O. D. White, Sylvester Calkins, and Eli Westlake. Their
house of worship was finished in 1855.
The Baptist Church9 completed its organization June 21, 1838 and
twelve persons presented letters from churches in Eastern States, viz.:
Silas Dibble, Aaron Sickles, Fanny Dibble, Hannah Austin, Joseph A.
6Riley C. Crawford died Nov. 18, 1910, see memoir, this volume.
7A jumper is a rude form of sled in which the shafts and runners are one con-
tinuous piece.
8P. W. Warren had charge of the church in 1849 and again in 1870-72. He be-
came an itinerant preacher in Michigan in 1844.
9The Baptist church was the second church in Howell. The first Baptist min-
ister to preach in Howell was the Rev. Mr. Post of Allegheny county, N. Y. This
was in February, 1836, during a visit over Sunday. History of Livingston Co.,
1S80, p. 164.
SETTLEMENT OP HOWELL 183
Dibble, Justin Durfee, Rachael Dibble, Lydia Austin, Daniel Case, Anna
Dibble, Sarah Durfee and Luana Monroe.10 Their first pastor was Rev.
Errick Mosher, salary $100 per year and residence, and under him the
church prospered. The first persons received into the church by baptism
were Hannah M. Sickles and Samuel Lyon. At the close of the next year
there were thirty-two members and one year later fifty-one. In 1842,
Rev. N. G. Chase was called to the pastorate followed by Revs. J. H.
Rosco, A. P. Howell, G. Bridge and P. C. Dayfoot. They held their
services in the schoolhouse, then the court-house. In 1846 they decided
to build a house of worship 32 x 44 feet, north of the court-house square.
This was completed in 1852. Their first deacon was Townsend Drew,
followed by George T. Sage, Justin Durfee, Ephraim Fowler, William C.
Rumsey, William L. Knapp and Cyrus Holt.
The Howell Presbyterian church was organized by Rev. Henry Root at
a meeting held June 16 and 17, 1838, and was legalized the following
July 7th. The original members were David H. Austin, Josiah P. Jewett,
Horace Griffith, Artemas Mahan, John T. Watson, George W. Jewett,
Edward F. Gay, Price Morse, Andrew Riddle, William McPherson,
Charles Clark, Lucretia Jewell, Catherine Griffith, Polly Ann Mahan,
Sarah Mahan, Harriet L. Watson, Anise P. Jewett, Clarissa L. Gay,
Elvira Morse, Elizabeth McPherson, Mrs. Moses Thompson, Matilda
Clark and Mary Clark. Three deacons were elected who were also rul-
ing elders. They were George W. Jewett, John T. Watson and Edward
Gay. The next year as the church was stronger a small church build-
ing was commenced and finished in 1840. The late Hon. Milo L. Gay
read a paper on the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the church,
in which he says he remembers going in the spring of 1837 with his
father from their home, later the Isbel farm, down to the Center, then
winding northward through the woods to the Thompson log house on
the bank of the pond, where meetings were held once in four weeks.
Later they followed another trail to the small house of James Sage.
This custom of opening the homes for services was continued fifteem
months. This church was organized in the loft of a one and one-half
story store built by his father. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse
until their church building was completed, which Mr. Gay says stood
opposite the north side of the present Central school square. This site
not being satisfactory it was removed to the southeastern corner of the
public square, and he further speaks of the arrangement of seats. There
was the small high pulpit at the west end, with three long slips o»
each side, elevated each one step above another. These were at right
10Prior to this in April there had been a meeting for the purpose of organizing
a Baptist church. Those present were the Rev. Thomas Baker, who was residing
in Highland; Silas Dibbble; Gardner Mason; Justin Durfee; Joseph A. Dibble;
Sard is Davis; Sarah Field; Sarah Durfee; Lydia and Hannah Austin.
184 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
angles with the body slips, those on the south side being considered a
favorable outlook for the young men, who well improved this advantage.
The north side was occupied by the choir. Though I was but a child,
when this house was in use, this description brings it all back so vividly.
George W. Jewett's family was a musical one and he was the chorister.
Benjamin Curtis manipulated the big bass viol, and I thought the music
was wonderful; probably the fact that my father was one of the num-
ber helped me form this opinion. My father, Salmon Adams, was buried
from this church, September, 1850, and Mr. Jewett, who stood at his
bedside when he died, was called the following February. This building
was also used for school purposes, court sessions and various public
meetings. It was after a time removed and is still standing, on the west
side of East street next north of the brick blacksmith shop, shattered
and partly dismantled, suggesting by its appearance, that none dare
raise the vandal's hand to lay low this venerable landmark. Their
present church was erected in 1855. Following Mr. Eoot in the pastorate
were the Revs. Sylvester Cochran, Edward E. Gregory, Henry Root a
second term, H. H. Grannis, L. Mills and Robert McBride, who after a
pastorate of seven years, died deeply lamented by the entire community.
Mr. McBride was the only pastor who had served this church or, I think
any other church in the place, who died during his pastorate. Mr.
Gregory spent many of his later years in Howell where he was a favorite,
being very repeatedly called to solemnize the marriage ceremony for
many of his friends. He died June 5, 1884, aged 84 years.
Howell's Congregational Church was organized 1849 and a brick
church built on the corner of Main and North streets. After a lapse of
sixteen years this church ceased to exist.
The Protestant Episcopal denomination organized December, 1857,
under the name of All Saints Church of Howell. This was superseded
in the spring of 1868 by that of St. John's Church. Their services were
held more or less regularly until their church was built on Walnut
street, a short distance north from the former site of Howell's first
house of worship, the old Presbyterian Church.
The Roman Catholics first held services in 1836 or 7. Each denomina-
tion had its Sunday School. About 1852. J. R. Axtel who was a Sunday
School specialist arrived from Detroit. He organized a Union school
here to which Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lee and Benjamin W. Cardell
gave their hearty cooperation. The scholars were encouraged by the
offer of giving of prizes to commit the scriptures to memory, many here
learned to repeat the four gospels and The Acts. At this time no Sun-
day School concert or celebration was considered complete without an
address from Mr. E. F. Burt.
One Saturday morning in spring of 1852 there was quite an unusual
SETTLEMENT OP HO WELL 185
occurrence on the main street of Howell. Joseph Steel who was an
excellent accountant when sober, procured his supply of intoxicants of
Sam Balcom. Mrs. Steel, an estimable woman asked and repeatedly
besought Mr. Balcom to let her husband have no more liquor. All her
entreaties were of no avail.
Mr. Steel again lost his manhood. His heartbroken wife counseled
with her friends and their decision resulted in this demonstration:
These ladies marched as quietly as did the "Indians" in the Boston
Tea Party and as persistently plied the hatchet, till the supply of liquid
fire ran out into the street. It was easy to see their hearts were
right, if their zeal was not wholly according to knowledge.
The cloud that was no larger than a man's hand again be-
came visible at Zanesville, Ohio, 1873, when Mother Stewart and
Mother Thompson heading a band went into the saloons of that town
with prayer and gospel song. A wave of consecrated purpose and en-
deavor was set in motion, which swept on and on like wild fire, and
reached Howell in the early fall of '74. A meeting was called to be
held in the Presbyterian Church to devise ways and means to meet the
emergency; and many willing hearts and hands were ready. Such
"mothers in Israel" as Mrs. William Huntington, Mrs. H. C. Briggs,
Mrs. J. B. Skilbeck and Mrs. A. G. Blood were there. But few of the
old crusaders now remain. This, and the meeting which followed were
the nucleus of the Howell Women's Christian Temperance Union.
MILITARY MATTERS.11
A rifle company was organized in the township of Howell in 1844.
The commissioned officers of the company were : William Lewis, captain ;
Ira Brayton, first lieutenant, and Emmet Smith, second lieutenant. The
first military parade of this company was at the residence of John W.
Smith, on section 28. A few years after the company was organized,
military duty was not required by the State Government, consequently
the company disbanded. In the year 1861, men of the township and
village enlisted and mustered into the United States service in the War
of the Rebellion to the number of 152. There were among them, three
captains, two first lieutenants, an adjutant, three second lieutenants,
eleven sergeants and five corporals. Bernard B. Smith, a resident of the
village, and a printer by trade, was engaged in sixty-two battles during
the war.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Villeroy E. Smith settled in the township in May, 1835. He was in-
terested in literature, and was a school teacher by profession. He died
"From a pamphlet on the History of Howell by Elisha H. Smith, published in
1868.
186 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
in the town of Marion, December 30, 1851, while engaged in this business.
Moses Thompson, a farmer, settled in the township in June, 1835. He
was a man who was generous and humane. He died December 2, 1841.
Edward Thompson, a farmer, settled there in 1835 and died April
16, 1842.
Nathaniel Johnson, a farmer, settled in the township in the autumn
of 1835. He died January 25, 1852.
Amos Adams settled in the village in November, 1835. He was a man
who was industrious and enterprising. He died the 14th of May, 1855.
Joseph Tucker settled in the village in 1836. He was a farmer and
a person of integrity. Died August 13, 1848. George and John Curtis,
sons of Victory, came with their father to the township, subsequently
moving to the village. George Curtis kept a hotel and his brother John
embarked in the mercantile business. The former died October 4, 1848,
and the latter December 7, 1841.
Benjamin J. Spring settled in the township in 1836. Later he moved
to the village and was proprietor of a hotel. He was also a mail con-
tractor and the first person who established a line of commodious stages
on the Detroit and Howell road. He was very humorous and witty. He
died December 25, 1853.
Hiram Bennett settled in the township in 1836. He was accidentally
killed by the falling of a tub while engaged in digging a well. He died
June 9, 1855.
Clement Stebbins settled in the township in 1836. Died November
11, 1861.
Job Case came to township in 1837. Died October 9, 1854.
Odell J. Smith came to the township in 1837. He was an enterpris-
ing farmer and held several local offices. Died January 23, 1861.
John, James and Aaron Lagrange settled in the township in 1837.
James died May 9, 1857, and Aaron, December 9, 1853.
George W. Jewett settled in the village in 1837. In 1840 he was elected
register of deeds for Livingston county. He was also county treasurer
one term. In 1845 he was appointed clerk of the House of Kepresenta-
tives of Michigan. Died February 12, 1851.
Ebenezer West, a farmer, came to the town in 1837. Died about the
year 1849.
Mathew West, also a farmer, came the same year and died about the
same year.
Rial Lake, a farmer, settled in the township in 1837. He had a col-
legiate education and was industrious and enterprising. Died December
29, 1851.
John Marr settled on section 8 in 1839. He died February 6, 1860.
Lemuel Monroe came into the township in May, 1849, and lived with
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL 187
his son Francis Monroe. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War,
and died April 29, 1854, at the age of ninety-five years.
Edward P. Bush settled in the township of Handy in 1837. He re-
moved to the village of Howell in 1844. He was twice elected sheriff
of Livingston county. He died August 28, 1853.
Daniel Case settled in the township in 1836. He has been honored
with several local offices and still lives (1868).
In the month of June, 1836, Henry Lake settled in the township. He
owned a large farm in the western part of same.
George W. Kneeland settled in the township in November, 1836. In
1840 he was* elected judge of probate — re-elected in 1844. In 1849 he
was elected a member of the House of Representatives. In 1851 he re-
moved to the village of Howell.
Giles Tucker settled in the village in 1836. He was a carpenter by
trade. He was sheriff of Livingston county two years and in the grocery
business.
William McPherson migrated from Scotland, July 23, 1836, and came
into Howell village September 17th the same year. He at first followed
the business of blacksmithing, and afterwards entered into mercantile
pursuits.
Joseph H. Steel settled in the village in 1836. He bought Crane &
Brooks' hotel in 1837. He moved to Osceola in 1840 and returned to the
village in 1843. Afterwards, he again removed to Osceola and stayed there
till 1848, when he again returned.
E. F. Gay settled in the village on the first day of April, 1837.
Almon Whipple settled in the township of Handy, Livingston county,
in 1836. He removed to Howell in 1837, and went into the mercantile
business which he followed until 1859. He was elected county clerk in
1837 and county treasurer in 1839. He was also postmaster six years.
He became wealthy.
Francis Monroe settled in the township June 1, 1837.
Abraham A. Van Nest, a farmer, settled in the township in 1837.
Joseph Turner, an attorney and counselor at law, emigrated from
Vermont and settled in the village in April, 1840. He was appointed
county clerk, to fill a vacancy in 1842, and was elected to the same office
the same year. He was re-elected in 1844. Was elected and re-elected
to county judge for the seventh judicial district of the State of Michi-
gan in April, 1857, for a term of six years. By virtue of this office he
became one of the justices of the supreme court of the State. He was
re-elected in 1863. He removed to the city of Owosso July 9, 1860.
Sardis F. Hubbell came to reside in Howell in the year 1854. In the
same year he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner for the county,
and was elected and re-elected Prosecuting Attorney in the years 1862
and 1864.
188
MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
John H. Galloway settled in the village in 1844. He was a promi-
nent Kepublican and was elected to the Senate in 1860.
George and Frederick J. Lee settled in the village in 1845. Both be-
came wealthy.
Frederick C. Whipple, an attorney, settled in the village in 1846. He
was elected Judge of Probate in 1848 and was re-elected in 1852. He
was a lawyer of acknowledged learning and ability.
Hjenry H. Harmon, attorney, settled in the village in 1847. He studied
law in the office of Lewis1 H. Hewitt and in the month of May, 1848, was
admitted to the bar. He was appointed Circuit Court Commissioner by
John S. Barry in 1851. In 1852 he was elected to the same office. In
1854 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney. In 1862 he was elected a
member of the House of Representatives, and in 1864 was elected Judge
of Probate.
The nearest inhabitants from the center of the township, at the settle-
ment of the place, were eighteen miles away. In a westerly direction,
it was about forty miles to the nearest settlement. The nearest mills
were eighteen miles distant. Following is a statement of the geography
of the first settlement (1835) :
Sec.
Joseph Porter 7
Samuel Waddell 17
Whitely Woodruff 17
David H. Austin 20
Villeroy E. Smith 21
Elisha H. Smith 21
Nathaniel Johnson 23
Alvin Crittenden 23
Merrit S. Havens.. . . 23
Sec.
Francis Field 23
Moses Thompson 25
Lewis Thompson 25
Morris Thompson 25
Edward Thompson. 25
Ezra I. Munday 25
Amos Adams 36
F. J. B. Crane 36
Alexander Fraser . . .36
IMMIGRATION OF 1836 TO TOWNSHIP
Sec.
John B. Larowe 36
Hiram Bennett 36
Henry Lake 8
Garrett S. Lake 9
Victory Curtis 9
George Curtis 10
John Curtis 10
Ichabod Kneeland 13
George W. Kneeland 13
John B. Kneeland 18
Nathan T. Kneeland 13
Benjamin G. Spring 15
Morgan Lyon 18
Sec.
Clement Stebbins 19
Job Case 22
Daniel Case 22
Justin Durfee 23
Peter Brewer 23
Solomon Pettingill 27
Henry Pettingill 28
James E. Head 28
Oliver Reed 35
Simon P. Shope 36
Gottlieb Schraft 36
Jacob Schraft 36
Watson G. Thomas 36
IMMIGRANTS THAT SETTLED IN THE VILLAGE, 1836
William McPherson.
Joseph H. Steel.
Giles Tucker.
Enos B. Taylor.
John Russell.
Peter Johnson.
Sherburn Crane.
Joseph Tucker.
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL
189
IMMIGRATION TO TOWNSHIP, 1837
Sec.
Odel J. Smith 10
Hezekiah Gates 15
Abraham A. VanNest 17
Henry Tobias 17
John Lagrange 21
Aaron Lagrange 21
James Lagrange 21
Sec.
Ebenezer West 26
Matthew West 26
Francis Monroe 28
Rial Lake 32
William Hudson 32
Huram Bristol . . .34
Edward F. Gay.
Richard Fishbeck.
John T. Watson.
James White.
IMMIGRATION TO VILLAGE, 1837
George W. Jewett.
Almon Whipple.
O. J. Field.
Josiah P. Jewett.
IMMIGRATION TO VILLAGE BEFORE 1838 BUT HAVE SINCE REMOVED
Joseph Porter.
Whitely Woodruff.
David H. Austin.
Leny Lyon.
Daniel Hotchkiss.
Len Hotchkiss.
Jonathan Austin.
Alvin Crittenden.
Merritt S. Havens.
Francis Field.
Alexander Fraser.
F. J. B. Crane.
John B. Kneeland.
Nathan T. Kneeland.
Morgan Lyon.
Justin Durfee.
John Russell.
Peter Brewer.
Solomon Pettingill.
Henry Pettingill.
James E. Head.
Oliver Reed.
Gottlieb Schraft.
Jacob Schraft.
Watson G. Thomas.
Peter Johnson.
William Hudson.
Sherburne Crane.
John F. Watson.
O. J. Field.
Henry Tobias.
Josiah P. Jewitt.
Hezekiah Gates.
Huram Bristol.
190 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL. COLLECTIONS
RESIDENTS OF SECTIONS AND WHEN SETTLED.
Name.
John B. Larowe
Ichabod Kneeland
Henry Lake
Daniel Case
Orlando Brewer
Almon Brewer
Samuel Stebbins
John W. Smith
Elisha H. Smith
George Austin
Francis Monroe
Henry O. Monroe
Abraham A. Van Nest.
Charles Lake
William Lake
Vernon C. Smith
Burt Brayton
Ira Brayton
Nathaniel Brayton
William Earl
Oliver Earl
Harlem Marr
Jesse Marr
Cyrus Marr
DeWitt C. Kneeland...
A. Dana Kneeland
Henry Larowe
Walter V. Smith
Nicholas N. Lake
Joseph Hogle
William A. Dorrance. .
Aaron Dorrance
Solomon Hilderbrant . .
Henry Smith
John Carl
Chas. Hilderbrant
Andrew J. Allen
Alvah Allen
Alvah Tpmlinson
Harvey Durfee
Section. Year settled.
1836
1836
1836
1836
1836
1836
1836
1835
1835
1835
1837
1837
1837
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1840
1840
(born) 1840
(born) 1841
(born) 1841
1841
1842
1842
1842
1842
1842
1842
1843
1843
1843
1843
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL
RESIDENTS OF SECTIONS AND WHEN SETTLED.— Continued.
191
Name.
Alonzo Fowler
Ephraim Fowler
Martial Fowler
Wm. E. Bennett
Rosco Fowler
Horace L. Lake
Wm. Smith
Christopher Van Nest ....
Samuel M. Yerkes
Harris Henry
Galen O. Phillips
Philander Bennett
Roger F. Archer
Francis Henry
Abraham Switz
Ralph Bunn
John Bunn
Perry Brundage
Joseph Preston
Ransom Barrett
George Louck..
Wm. Y. Hyde
Wm. More
Stephen S. More
Sanford S. Moore
Robert McLean
Joseph Stafford
George Stafford
Henry Chittenden
Henry Herrington
Nicholas Lake
Nicholas Lake, Jr
Henry Lake
Franklin E. Stewart
John Roberson
James Roberson
David Roberson
Henry Stevens
John Stevens
Asa McFall...
Section.
Year settled.
17
20
20
20
20
17
23
18
28
21
21
19
14
9
13
19
19
20
27
27
28
3
16
16
17
16
5
5
2
23
21
21
21
19
4
4
4
*20
20
27
1843
1843
1843
(born) 1843
1843
(born) 1843
1843
1844
1845
1845
1845
(born) 1845
1845
1845
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1847
1847
1847
1847
1848
1848
1848
1849
1849
1849
1849-
184&
1850
1851
1851
1851
1851
1851
1851
192 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
RESIDENTS OF SECTIONS AND WHEN SETTLED.— Continued.
Name.
James Daniels
John Van Blaricom . .
John Wassenger
Colon Redpath
Wm. Roberson
Dexter Filkins
Theodore Staley
George Wakefield
Enos Sowles
Silas Smith
William Stewart
Phineas Stewart
Everett Sargent
Nicholas Hale
Thomas Gilchrist
George W. Place
Vestell Baker. .......
Waldo Baker
Henry F. Allen
Thomas Stevens
John H. Diamond. . . .
Thomas Bucknell
Robert Wakefield
John W. Richmond.. .
Reuben Warren
Ebenezer Stearns
Henry Stearns
Allen Stearns
George W. Wilkinson.
John Elson
Seymour E. Howe.. . .
Tracey Richmond. . . .
A. W. Fuller
Warren Fuller
John Park
Peter Woll, Jr
Russel Richmond ....
Jesse Child
Andrew Woll
Ezekiel Buckle.. .
Section. Year settled.
32
33
24
8
9
12
13
22
33
28
21
20
16
11
16
7
1
1
5
14
15
15
16
19
23
31
31
31
3
10
15
19
18
18
20
19
19
27
32
25
SETTLEMENT OF HOWELL
RESIDENTS OF SECTIONS AND WHEN SETTLED.— Contin ued.
193
Name.
Sylvester Andrews
Wm. B. McMillan
Enos W. Hill
Sidney Carpenter
Thomas Gordon
Eli Hornish
Samuel Strictley
Richard Ray
William Tongue
Robert Holmes
Orrin J. Wells
Ferdinand W. Munson
Frank Hook
John Briggs
Edward Briggs
Alonzo Ferren
Ezekiel King
Charles Damon
Joseph Hubbard
Leonard Hook
Nicholas J. Holt
George Detterloy
Robert S. Creig
Benjamin Waldron
George Frink
David Hall
Richard May
Samuel Sidell
Calvin Dillion
William Burch
Daniel Ellenwood
Henry Pell
Calvin Wilcox
Leonard Conradt
Henry P. Boyd
Adam Conradt
William A. Dean
Peter J. Dean
Harvey Bushnell
George Baker
Section.
18
29
Year set tied.
25
194 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
RESIDENTS OF SECTIONS AND WHEN SETTLED.— Concluded.
Name.
John Casterton
Lewis Geyer
Miles W. Davison . .
Michael Chaffee
Robert Johnson
David F. Grand al . .
Andrew Earl
James J. Bennett
Francis S. Hardy...
Elijah Musson
Peter Lamoroux
Elias Kleckler
Alfred Earl
Edgar Durfee
Charles Sharp
Ansel Wells
Stephen Wiles
John Van Arsdale. .
William Newman...
John Hawes
George Raymor. . . .
Isaac Norton
Eri Campbell
Jerome Hand
Charles Yelland
Henry Rogers
Section. Year settled.
28
29
30
27
29
21
23
24
25
26
13
11
11
7
G
1
2
2
6
31
11
12
10
19
23
30
1865
1865
1865
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1866
1867
1867
1867
1867
1867
1867
1867
1867
1867
SETTLEMENT OP HOWELL
POPULATION OF SECTIONS.
195
Section.
Over 21.
Under 21.
Total.
Section.
Over 21.
Under 21.
Total.
1
1
10
15
25
18
16
24
40
2
11
17
28
19 ..
26
27
53
3
11
10
21
20
28
20
48
4
10
5
15
21
28
20
48
5
11
13
24
22
20
27
47
6
6
14
21
23
22
40
60
7
12
11
23
24
11
18
29
g
17
23
40
25 .
9
10
19
9
26
33
59
26
5
1
6
10
13
11
24
27
18
17
35
11
16
26
42
28
15
16
31
12
11
15
26
29
8
14
22
13
12
13
25
30
9
13
22
14
11
9
20
31
16
20
36
15
9
14
23
32
8
11
19
16
23
20
43
33
6
8
14
17
17
11
28
34
8
14
22
Total ....
479
560
1,039
Colored
11
1,050
196 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
THE STORY OF JOHN TANNER1
BY MRS. ANGIE BINGHAM GILBERT2
I am more than pleased to bring you my greeting tonight, and I am
more pleased because I feel that I represent one of the oldest and best
friends of this Society, my husband, Thomas D. Gilbert of Grand Rapids.
He was constantly in attendance and felt very great interest in this and
in our own Society of Grand Rapids. The last time we came here to-
gether to a meeting the Society seemed to be in a decline. It had not
been able to get the recognition from the State that it had hoped, and
many of the most prominent and most active of its members1 had recently
died, and many of the others thought that it would be the last time they
would ever meet together, and there was a sadness over the entire meet-
ing. But I am pleased to find that it has revived and so many others
have become interested in it, and that such a large number are present.
Some months ago I was asked to prepare a historical paper for this
meeting, but I was unable to do so on account of my health. I came
here on very short notice with no expectation of having anything to say
and am entirely unprepared. This incident I shall speak of was a very
remarkable story of the old time Michigan. A tragedy on account of
the many peculiar characters who were connected with it. Mr. Peter
White asked rue to write the story of Tanner. I did so and it can be
found in Ralph Williams' work on the Honorable Peter White, page
ninety -two. I am very glad, since I was born at all, that I was born
in Michigan and in that historic part of Michigan in the Upper Penin-
sula on the banks of the St. Mary's River, one of the most beautiful
rivers in the world. I am glad that I was a child of pioneers, not only
people who were trying to help the white people of America, but also
trying to be a benefit to the people who were here before us, the dark
men whose homes we have taken; and that I was a child of pioneers
who have given their lives to the betterment of these people.
I have often wondered at my great interest in the pioneer and the
Indian, but it suddenly seemed to come over me at the last meeting of
this Society on hearing one of the papers read, the occult reason why
I was so interested and when the speaker mentioned the Sault Ste.
Marie and the establishment of the first Jesuit Mission, I happened to
think that I was born on almost the identical spot where historians and
those who have looked into the matter tell us Marquette and the Jesuit
'Told at the annual meeting, June 5, 1908.
2See Memoirs of the Soo, Vol. XXX, pp. 623-633, this series. Mrs. Gilbert died
Nov. 7, 1910, at Grand Rapids, cf. supra, memoir.
THE STORY OF JOHN TANNER 197
priests had the ceremony of what is called "planting the cross," and
in the house where the treaty3 was made where so many so narrowly
escaped massacre by the Indians. Some time ago I was given a toma-
hawk that was found under the foundation stones of the mission house
which my father built. The tomahawk is of iron, rusty and old, show-
ing that it was buried a long time, long before this mission house was
built because it was even under the foundation stones. My sister was
born in the mission house and we two were brought up over this toma-
hawk.
St. Mary's Eiver, from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, is full of historic
interest. I know the history of almost every spot from the source of
the river to its mouth. Many years ago my mother and an Indian girl
whom she had brought up were wrecked near the mouth of the river.
No lives were lost. All the way up the river are spots connected with
the Indians making stories of very great interest indeed. As you reach
Sault Ste. Marie on the American bank of the river just below the old
Indian agency, stood a beautiful old house which was always painted
white. It was built under the old elms and was a most picturesque
spot. This was the home of John Tanner,4 commonly known as "Old
Tanner." He was born in Ohio, I do not remember just where. He had
a very strange and terrible personality and was the "bogie man" to
children and a source of worry to nearly every one. He was an old man
when I was a little girl. The Indians came and massacred all his people
and the people in his town. His family were all killed but himself.5
He saw them take little children by the feet and dash their brains out.
He was taken prisoner and carried to the north and brought up among
the Indians. He became practically one of them, and was known as the
"white Indian." He married an Indian woman, and had a large family.
He was a very remarkable man, and was really very intelligent. I do
not know much of his history. In middle life he found out about his
people and went to Ohio where he found out all about himself. After
that he became quite well educated. He was also very religious. His
life was written many years ago, and is in the State library here in
this city. It did not give the latter part of his life. He came with his
8On June 16, 1820, Gov. Cass made a treaty with the Chippeway Indians.
Schoolcraft describes the scene in his Narrative Journal of the Travels from De-
troit, northwest through the American lakes in 1820, etc., and states that the
Indians were at first much opposed to the treaty, showing a threatening attitude.
In Sketches of a tour of the Lakes, of the character and customs of the Chippeway
Indians, etc., by T. L. McKenney, pp. 183-4, he attributes Mr. Cass' final success
and the diverting of an Indian attack upon the Americans, to the wise council
and intervention of Mrs. Johnson, the Indian wife of the interpreter.
4See Sketch of John Tanner, by Judge Joseph H. Steere, Vol. XXII, p. 246, this
series.
Tanner's Life, A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner
During Thirty Years' Residence Among the Indians in the Interior of North
America, prepared by Edwin James, London, 1830.
198 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Indian family to the Soo and settled there before I was born. He was
a man with a very violent temper which he never controlled. Outside
of that he would have been a very interesting man, but when enraged
he was almost insane. I do not know whether his Indian wife left him
or died, but his children left him and he lived alone in this little house.
After a while he was anxious to marry a white woman.6 He had been
below, (we called it going "below" and "above" when we went south
or north) and the people became interested in him at Detroit and recom-
mended a widow there whose name was, I believe, Mrs. Duncan, although
I am not certain. He probably did n6t give any exhibition of temper
while there, and she finally consented to marry him and came back to
the Soo. He became very cruel to her, and wanted her to live as his
Indian wife had done. In his violent rages he had threatened to kill
her and she became afraid of him and determined to leave him. At
that time it was considered a terrible thing to have a divorce, and she
was at a loss to know what to do.
About this time John Tanner went away for a little time, and while
he was gone she came to my father, of whom she thought a great deal,
and he told her he could not advise her to leave her husband, but that
if he had threatened her life he should not say anything about her going.
He and many others became interested in her case and a collection was
taken up and enough money was raised to send her away while Mr.
Tanner was out of town. When he came back and found her gone he
was in a terrible rage. He was very angry at these people for helping
his wife to go away, and determined at some time or other to kill every
one who had helped in anyway to get his wife away from him. He went
to Detroit to see her, but she refused to come back. This was before
my birth.
Henry and James Schoolcraft were brothers. Henry was then Indian
agent at the Soo. He was called at that time, "Uncle Sam's pet." Marie
Schoolcraft was the sister of Henry and James, and married Judge John
Hulbert, of an old Detroit family. The Rev. Abel Bingham7 was my
father. An officer of the United States army, Major Kingsbury, was
commandant at the fort which could be seen from my home.
The years went on, and this old man lived alone in his beautiful pic-
turesque old house on the bank of St. Mary's Kiver. He had a great
many beautiful ideas, but his anger increased. He had spells of rage
but was at times very reasonable. For many years he interpreted for
my father who was a missionary, and very a excellent one. He was a
"Schoolcraft in his Thirty Years With the Indian Tribes, p. 601, states that
Tanner went to Detroit where he became pleased with a country girl who was
a chambermaid at Ben Woodworth's hotel. They were married and had one
child and when she had lived with him one year she made her escape.
Tlev. Abel Bingham. See sketch, Vol. II, pp. 146-157, this series. Mr. Bingham
wrote a paper on Early Missions at the Sault Ste. Marie, which is published in
Vol. XXVIII, p. 520, this series.
THE STORY OF JOHN TANNER 199
very strange and in some ways a noble looking niaii. He was tall and
spare, with long white hair which he wore parted in the middle and
drawn back behind his ears like a woman's. He had a fierce eye, and
his countenance was most forbidding. When he was not angry he was
very pleasant and gentlemanly. He was very much like a white man,
excepting for this terrible temper.
After I became quite a girl I remember him. When he was pleasant
we were interested in seeing him but when angry, we were very much
afraid of him. He used to sit in his door at sunset. When my sister
and I were little and had to pass his house, and saw Tanner sitting on
his doorstep we took hold of hands and ran past the house. Like an
Indian, he nourished his feeling of revenge and hatred. Very often they
were obliged to shut him up in jail until he got over these spells. He
was however very lonely and about two weeks before the tragedy he
came to my father's house and told father he could not endure this life
any longer and that he must make some change. He made a proposi-
tion to father that he should come and live at the mission house of which
father was in charge. He said if he could only eat at table with the
family he would stay in his room and not disturb anybody. Father
knew what a terrible thing his temper was, and refused to have him.
He came down from the study, I remember, and passed through the
sitting room where Mrs. Hulbert was sitting with several other persons.
He was very angry but seemed only grieved at father's refusal. About
two weeks after that time he began to be very crazy, acting as he did
when he was in his frenzies. Father went over to the garrison to talk
to Major Kingsbury about having Tanner shut up in jail. While he
was talking to him an orderly told him that Mr. James Schoolcraft had
been shot by Tanner. Father was the first one that arrived at the spot.
Mr. James Schoolcraft was a sutler at the garrison. He was rather a
gay man and very handsome. Saturday was the 4th of July, and he had
gone over to the Canadian side to have a good time with the officers on
that side. I do not know at what time he got back to his home. He was
sleeping off his good time on the Monday after the 4th, and got up from
his bed in the afternoon, put on his dressing sack and slippers, and took
a walk in his beautiful garden across what is now Porter avenue where
he had a vegetable garden. Just as he got to a clump of bushes in the
garden some one fired a shot which struck him in the heart. There was
a very great commotion. When father arrived upon looking about the
pdace he found a wad of paper which he supposed was in the gun. He
unrolled it and found this paper was part of a mission hymn book that
was used in the chapel. There was very great excitement in town that
afternoon. This was Mr. Peter White's first visit to this Lake Superior
region. He was a boy of fifteen, a young roustabout looking for work.
Everybody took guns to hunt Tanner, who was a very skillful marks-
200 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
man. The men didn't go very far into the woods and didn't find Tan-
ner. Prom that day to this John Tanner has never been heard of. The
town hunted for him knowing that he had threatened to kill every one
who had helped to get his wife away. Particularly did he try to kill
Henry Schoolcraft, but he had gone away and only his brother James
was at home. He said if he couldn't get Henry, he would get Jim.
Mr. Hulbert and wife had gone to Detroit for a visit and Mrs. James
Schoolcraft had gone with them. He also threatened to kill father and
several other persons who had given money toward getting Mrs, Tanner
away.
On Saturday night the Fourth of July this little house of Mr. Tanner
was burned to the ground. When the people went there to try and put
out the fire they could not get near as powder had been placed around
it and every little while it would explode. Some thought Mr. Tanner
was burned with his house, but afterwards when they looked they never
found any part of him. It is thought he went away and hid in the
woods.
They had a guard around my father's house for two months and nobody
went out of the house in the evening because they were afraid of John
Tanner. Whatever happened, John Tanner did it. It was called the "Tan-
ner summer." A great many stories about his having been seen here
and there were told, and father who was much interested investigated
all these stories and never found but one he thought had any claim to
truth. It was supposed that he had gone to the north with which he
was familiar. I went with a small party of girls down to Schoolcraft's
home and saw him as he laid there. I was old enough to know all about
it and remember it well indeed. An officer in the army named Lieut.
Tilden had had difficulty with Mr. James Schoolcraft, and had been
heard to say that "cold lead would fix it." Nobody thought anything
about it at the time however. Lieut. Tilden while serving in the Mexi-
can War had gotten into some difficulty and was courtmartialed during
which he wrote a letter to my father telling him that during the court-
martial he had been charged with Schoolcraft's murder instead of Tan-
ner. He as^ed for a letter saying he had not done the deed, but when
father, wh^ was sure that Tanner had murdered Mr. Schoolcraft, went
out with a letter for signers, there was one man who said he would not
sign it as he was afraid Tilden had done the deed. Some thought he
had sent two soldiers out who did it. About a month after the murder
these two soldiers came in, and the barrel of one of the guns wasi empty.
But what had become of Tanner?8 No one knew. Then they said that
Tanner's family always hoped to find him. There is a story of his brother
James finding him, told by Elizabeth T. Baird, Wisconsin Hist. Colls., Vol. XIV,
pp. 47-55.
THE VALUE OF LOCAL HISTORICAL DATA . 201
Tilden9 had hired these two men to go into the woods and shoot James
Schoolcraft.
A very remarkable thing happened about a month after this murder.
These two soldiers were on guard. A sentinel was standing there and
the men were standing about when a terrible thunder storm came up.
I think I have never seen a storm come up so quickly, and it proved
the most terrible shower ever witnessed. I was looking out of the
window and saw a great commotion in the garrison. These two soldiers
who had been supposed to have been hired to kill James Schoolcraft,
were both struck with lightning and instantly killed. They were taken
past my father's house with military honors to the cemetery. One thing
I remember, they played the dead march on the way out and on the
way back played ''Yankee Doodle." This of course made it impossible
to find out anything about the murder from these soldiers, but I don't
know how the courtmartial came out.
A number of years ago, about forty years after the murder, I was
visiting at Mackinac, and came across the oldest daughter of John Tan-
ner. She was a half-breed named Martha and lived to a very great age.
She told me a very strange story. She said she had had a letter from
Mrs. Tilden that it was her husband who had shot James Schoolcraft.
But she didn't want her to say anything about it until her husband was
dead. I didn't believe it. She herself was a Roman Catholic and had
shown the letter to the Bishop and he had told her it had better be de-
stroyed. He took care of it, and put it in the grate. Mrs. Hulbert, Mrs.
Schoolcraft and Mr. Peter White had believed that James Schoolcraft
was shot by Tilden, but father investigated the thing very thoroughly,
and he did not think the thing possible. A United States soldier would
not have had a leaf from a mission hymn book as wadding for his gun,
and Mr. Tilden would not have knowTn about Mr. Schoolcraft sleeping
off his 4th of July celebration.
Nobodv knows who burned the house or who killed James Schoolcraft.
THE VALUE OF LOCAL HISTORICAL DATA
BY PRANK TRACY CARLETON1
History is a science; it belongs to the family of social sciences. His-
tory is concerned not with the string of events held together by the
colorless thread of chronology ; historical science is a study of causation.
In the social and political world, social and political structures are
"Tilden resigned in 1848 and died ten years later.
*Read at the midwinter meeting, Albion, January, 1909.
202 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
evolved, and changes take place, in response to modifications in the
social and physical environment, or in the industry of the people. His-
tory is the social physics of the past; sociology, of the present. Unless
the study of history aids in the solution of the social problems of to-day,
it remains in the lower rank of leisure class, cultural studies, — the
value of which is chiefly traditional and putative.
The medieval mind had no idea of causation in the physical world;
only comparatively recently did we of modern times begin to throw off
medievalism in regard to social progress. According to the early meta-
physical conception of history, data and investigations were of no value,
or of negative value. In a similar way, the medieval authorities con-,
sidered inductive physical science to be improper and dangerous. How-
ever, metaphysics and supersition in regard to the evolution of political
institutions are fortunately rapidly giving way to scientific hypotheses
based upon exact and detailed investigation of historical data.
Furthermore, history consists of more than the mere record of events.
It is the function of real historical study to ascertain in a measure the
reason for the rise and fall of specific nations, parties and principles.
Before broad and reasonable generalizations can be drawn an enormous
mass of exact, uncolored historical data must be gathered and digested.
This data must relate not merely to political events or to the work and
ideas of certain great and more or less spectacular personages who
have stood in the foreground in generations which lie forever behind the
present. This data must, if it be highly valuable, tell the true story of
the life, ideals, customs, industrial and social relations of the mass of
the people. Each locality, class and individual can add its quota toward
the accurate knowledge of the true history of a given nation.
In the past our historians have often been guilty of presenting a false
picture of the history of a nation. Their conclusions have often been
very much prejudiced and distorted. In part this unfortunate situa-
tion was the direct and inevitable result of a lack of minute and local
historical data. In part, it was due to a false idea of patriotism which
led the writers to over-emphasize the good qualities of certain historical
personages and to accentuate the moral weaknesses of others; it caused
the historians to find altruistic and broad-minded ideals where in reality
egoistic and particularistic ambitions were uppermost. Not only were
false ideas presented, but the glorification of the past inevitably made the
student and reader pessimistic in regard to the present and the future.
The past was seen constantly surrounded by an unreal halo. The imagin-
ary good old days and the more or less mythical heroic heroes of the
past when placed in comparison with the somber, but actual, present
checked the enthusiasm of many a young idealist. With this contrast
in view the present seemed hopelessly degenerate; corruption, graft and
THE VALUE OF LOCAL HISTORICAL DATA 203
political chicanery were believed to be of recent origin whereas in reality
these evils are as old as history.
American history has suffered greatly in the past because of super-
ficial and prejudiced interpretation of facts, and because of the lack
of definite and accurate data. Fortunately, great progress has been
made in the last two or three decades. Libraries and associations like
the one under whose auspices this meeting is held, have been busy col-
lecting manuscripts, newspapers, letters, old books, anything which
will give a clue to the real life, ideals, customs and conditions of the
people of this country. Many earnest and devoted students have studied
portions of this constantly growing material and have given to the
world valuable monographic studies relating to some specific historical
movement or event. Others have presented more general historical
works based upon the two preceding classes of material. As a result
we are beginning to get a new view of our national past ; and this new
view is much truer and much less distorted than the older sentimental
presentation. Our revolutionary heroes, for example, are no longer
pictured as supermen; they are seen to be like men of today, — men
affected by the same motives and influences as are those who to-day
walk the streets or sit in the halls of Congress. The great man theory
of history is also displaced by the view that economic and environmental
forces mould, in a large degree, the political movements which stand out
so prominently in our history. Unfortunately, there are still some
writers, lecturers and ministers who either through ignorance or wilful
perversion of facts, continue to misuse their opportunities by drawing
false conclusions and presenting highly colored pictures of historical
epochs and movements.
Careful study of the medieval period in European history is greatly
handicapped because scholars are unable to find much material as to
the common, the ordinary, events and methods of carrying on the routine
of daily life. The kind of data which is important is missing. Only the
exceptional and unusual happenings were generally recorded. In order
that a comprehensive and trustworthy knowledge of American history
be obtained, it is necessary that a mass of material be collected and
studied which will accurately and truthfully tell of the actual routine
of life among the mass of the people in every locality of the United
States. For example, a president of the American Historical Associa-
tion has pointed out that the diaries and letters of the Methodist circuit
riders of the frontier districts ought to furnish a vast amount of valu-
able information because these men were typical frontiersmen and came
very closely in contact with the life of the people. To gather this fugi-
tive material is, or should be, the mission of this Association. From
the standpoint of a student, such work is fundamental. It is absolutely
204 ' MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
necessary in order that unprejudiced and truly scientific historical work
may take the place of the biased sentimentalism which has often passed
current for history and biography.
As a student of American industrial history, I cannot emphasize too
strongly the desirability of aiding this Association in its laudable ef-
forts to collect, preserve and catalogue the scattered material which re-
lates to the period when Michigan was a frontier state of this union.
Again, let it be noted, a knowledge of the home life, industrial methods,
amusements, social life, ideals and beliefs is especially needed rather
than the mere details of unusual events. Individuals and specific de-
tails are of importance to the historian only in so far as they aid in
completing the picture of an epoch.
THE DUTCH PIONEERS OF MICHIGAN
BY MARTIN L. D^OOGE, LL. D.1
There are four motives that underlie colonization; that is, the love of
adventure, the love of gold, the love of power and the love of freedom.
All these motives may enter into the history of colonization, but a close
study of this history makes now the one, and now the other of these
forces most prominent. The impulse that brought the Dutch pioneers
to the state of Michigan in 1847 was, as we shall see, essentially the love
of religious freedom. And in this respect it was a movement quite like
that of the Pilgrims and Puritans who settled on the shores of New
England.
The emigration of the Dutch pioneers of Michigan from their native
land was inspired by the best ideals and partook of the enthusiasm
that has characterized some of the prominent events of history. It did
not stand all by itself but it was a part of the larger emigration from
Europe to America. The wonderful resources of this country, the privi-
leges of its free government and the opportunity afforded here for per-
sonal advancement drew to these shores a mighty stream of population.
The emigration from Holland was one of the events that swelled the
stream. The modern spirit of freedom, of enlargement, came upon the
people of Holland as upon the other nationalities. This modern spirit
affected the people of the Netherlands in two ways; first, that of a
liberalizing intellectualism, and second that of a moderate socialism.
It created three parties in Holland, that is, the radical reconstruction-
ists, the conservative nationalist, and the ecclesiastical separatist. Now
*Read at the fourth midwinter meeting, January, 1909.
THE DUTCH PIONEERS OF MICHIGAN 205
it is to be especially noticed that the Church and State stood in close
connection. With the normal Hollanders religion, theology, and moral-
ity, are bound up with all his social and civil interests. A ferment
arose. Consciences were tried, conflicts resulted, battles grew hot.
The conflict was determined, the persecution bitter. Finally exclusions
were contrived and separatists followed. It was in this atmosphere of
conflict and trial that the "free church" of Holland was born — at first
called the "Christian Reformed Church," later known as the Seceded
Reformed Church in the Netherlands. (Seceded from the National Re-
formed Church.) And it was in connection with this movement for
the free church that the emigration in 1847 to Michigan had its origin.
Before we trace the history of the emigration a few words may be
added by way of explanation and comment upon this religious move-
ment. The persecution officially on the part of the government and
unofficially on the part of the leaders in political, social and religious
circles to which the people who espoused the cause of the free church
was subject, seems beyond credence. Says one writer: "The old days ap-
pear to have returned, days in which persecution flamed up against the
"Reformed." Then also the friends of truth saw themselves driven to
surrender their church buildings to their persecutors, and to seek shelter
in barns and stables where they might worship God according to their
conscience. Even this was forbidden them and their efforts were liable
to be punished with fines, deportation and exile. To be sure this was
nothing new or unheard of in the history of the Fatherland, but it seem-
ed best fitting to the chain of events that belonged to the fourth de-
cade of the nineteenth century."
Among the preachers of the Gospel who became the object of the
fiercest persecution was a young man who was destined to become the
Moses that was to lead these children of a spiritual bondage into the
new Canaan of freedom. This Canaan was in Ottawa County in this
State and this Moses was Dr. Albertus C. Van Raalte. Dominie Van
Raalte was a man small in stature, of indomitable will, of great execu-
tive ability, of penetrating insight, of unflinching courage, of unfalter-
ing trust in God and of unselfish ambition. He was of the stuff that
martyrs and apostles are made of. "A man mighty in words and in
deeds" is the motto on the title page of his biography written by the
Rev. H. E. Dosker, published in 1893, In his biography, written from
original documents, are found recorded a number of outrages per-
petrated upon the truthful pastor and his young bride. Several times
his life was in danger. "The Newlighter" was cast into prison as a
disturber of the peace and made to share the pallet of a common vaga-
bond. In the midst of these persecutions and trials the "American
Fever" began to make itself felt also in the veins of the young Dominie.
206 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The voyage to America in those days was a great event. An emigrant
to America took leave of his kindred as a man on his deathbed says fare-
well to his kith and kin. The immediate occasion of Van Raalte's desire
to go to America was the reading of a letter from newly arrived emi-
grants to a schoolmaster who lived near Arnhem. The idea of going some-
where to better the conditions of life and to escape from persecutions
had been growing in his mind for some time. The alternative was
America or Java, the pearl of the East Indies. Java promised more
material advantages at the outset than America. Java was a Dutch
possession, enjoyed a salubrious climate had a fertile soil and a luxurious
vegetation. In estimating the relative advantages of this site it is in-
teresting to find a brochure written by Van Raalte and his brother-
in-law, Rev. A. Brummelkamp in 1845, that the prevailing motive that
led them at that time to prefer Java to America was a most unworldly
one. Since Java promised easier conditions of gaining a livelihood,
the prospect was fair to having more time and strength to pursue th,e
work of planting the Gospel and evangelizing this part of the world.
To quote from the brochure named: "The thought that Java might be
made a central point for the propagation of the Gospel in the far east,
this thought burned in our minds, our prayers arose to Heaven frequently
that this might be the issue of our plans." At a mass meeting held at
Utrecht of those who were in sympathy with the movement (of seeking
a home elsewhere in order to be able to enjoy freedom of worship) two
delegates were appointed to negotiate with the Minister of the Colonies
with reference to a settlement on the Island of Java, on condition that
they should be granted religious freedom and a certain amount of tem-
porary assistance in meeting the expenditures required in building their
homes. This proposal was summarily rejected. Certain it is that had
these negotiations been successful the future of Java would have been
a very different one. A stream of the best Dutch population, industrious,
frugal, moral and religious, would have made this beautiful country the
abode of peace and prosperity such as it has. never enjoyed.
From this action on the part of the Minister of the Dutch Colonies,
as an indirect consequence, resulted the emigration to this country led
by Dr. Van Raalte in 1847. The question was for some time an open
one whether this emigration should be organized into a colony or
whether all and any who chose should emigrate as individuals or as
families and settle wherever they deemed best. It is easy to suppose
that had the latter policy prevailed, the Dutch emigrants would have
been scattered over many parts of the country and would have had
no strong band of union and no concentrated influence. The tide of
emigration to America kept swelling and many Hollanders on their own
account and for various reasons found their way to these shores during
THE DUTCH PIONEERS OF MICHIGAN 207
these years. They settled chiefly in Albany, New York, Patterson and
Rochester while maintaining for a time their own language, church-
service and customs, they gradually became absorbed in the American
communities and lost all individuality as Hollanders. To guard against
this dispersion and also to obtain financial assistance, a sort of a gen-
eral epistle was sent by Van Raalte and Brummelkamp, dated Arnhem,
May 25, 1846, addressed to "The Faithful in the United States of North
America." This letter was sent to no one person because no one in
this country was known to whom it could be personally addressed.
Like a piece of writing in a bottle thrown among the billows by dis-
pairing shipwrecked voyagers, this letter was carried by an emigrant
without knowing to whom it should be given. It fell into the hands of
Rev. Dr. I. N. Wyckoff2 of Albany, a devoted friend of the Hollanders
and himself of Dutch descent, who caused this letter to be translated
and to be published in the Christian Intelligencer the official organ of
the Reformed Church of this country. The result of this letter was
the organization among the friends of the Hollanders in Albany of a
league entitled "The Protestant Evangelical Holland Emigration Union."
This league was of great service, especially in aiding the newly arrived
emigrant, ignorant of the language, the customs and life of this land,
to find profitable employment and a home.
It was the latter part of 1846 that Dr. Van Raalte3 arrived in New
York accompanied by a few followers to pave the way for the future
emigrants. They sailed from Rotterdam, October 2nd, and arrived the
17th of November, a voyage of forty-five days. But now whither? It
was Van Raalte's purpose to found a colony on a large scale. To ac-
complish this with small means, it was necessary that he should take up
such lands as he could get for the smallest outlay of money. He thought
of Illinois and Wisconsin. But through acquaintances made in New
York he fell in with certain prominent men in that city who had be-
come interested in Michigan. Accordingly, Van Raalte set out on the
journey of inspection and discovery in 1846. A few of the more ad-
venturous accompanied him. Several of these found temporary em-
ployment in the shipbuilding yards of St. Clair while Van Raalte pro-
2The Rev. Isaac N. Wyckoff was born in Hillsborough, Somerset Co., N. J., Aug.
29, 1792, and died in Albany, N. Y., March 28, 1869. He was pastor of the First
Dutch Reformed Church, Leeds, N. Y., the Catskill Dutch Reformed Church and
the Albany Second Dutch Reformed Church, the last place from 1836-1866. He
was active in benevolent and educational enterprises and a volunteer commis-
sioner of emigration to the numerous Hollanders who came to the vicinity of
Albany from 1845-1865. His wife, Jane K., died Feb. 29, 1848. He had a son,
Theodore F. Wyckoff, who entered the ministry and died at the age of thirty-
five, Jan. 18, 1855, on St. Thomas Island, where he had charge of the Dutch Re-
formed Church. See MunselVs Annals of 'Albany, and Appletoris Cyclopedia of
American Biography.
3Dr. Albertus Christian Van Raalte was born Wanneperveen, Province of Overys-
sel, Netherlands, Oct. 17, 1811. He gives an account of the settlement of Holland
(New Haven) in Page's History of Ottawa County, Chicago, 1882, p. 77.
208 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ceeded to explore the wilds of the western part of the State. From De-
troit he journeyed overland to Allegan, where he was kindly entertained
in a loghouse by Mr.4 and Mrs. Kellogg, who became his "never-to-be-
forgotten friends." Soon Van Raalte and Kellogg with an Indian guide
went on a prospecting tour in January, 1847 and came to Hope Haven,
as the site was called, the site now occupied by Holland, on the borders
of Black Lake. Here they found an encampment, put up by the only
white man in all the region, who was a missionary to the Indians. The
name of this missionary I have not been able to learn.5 Van Raalte
hastened back to his little party at Detroit, to lead them to this spot
which he had chosen as the seat of his colony.
Meanwhile other emigrants had been arriving who were awaiting at
Albany the outcome of his decision. In February, 1847, a number of
men, accompanied by one woman6 arrived in the heart of this wilder-
ness. They were possessed of one mind and soul. Their purpose was
fixed. Their faith in their leader and their trust in God were un-
wavering. They came ready for any sacrifice needed to secure their
success. Van Raalte's wife and children had remained behind in Allegan
until their new home was erected. A tribute is due to Mrs. Van Raalte
who from first to last was a power of strength to her husband in the
founding of this colony which, to use another's phrase, "She carried
on her heart."
This enterprise of founding a colony of emigrants, unacquainted with
the language and customs of the country, without any experience of
pioneer life, with slender financial means, was certainly heroic. As the
Americans of the neighboring towns like Allegan, Grand Rapids, Kala-
mazoo, looked on and saw these Dutchmen disappearing in the woods
they shook their heads and said "Settlements are good, but they are
built on the bones of the settlers."
In the town now called Zeeland was planted another colony which
came as a regularly organized congregation. It came from Goes, Zee-
land in 1848, under Rev. C. Van der Meulen. When the question of
emigration came before them, the West Indies, and the Cape of Good
Hope were considered. But reports from Van Raalte, who had gone
the year before, decided them to go to the United States. At a pre-
liminary meeting about 200 of the persecuted Reformed Church fol-
lowers were assembled. There they voted to go to America, and organ-
4John R. Kellogg was born in New Hartford, N. Y., in 1793, and was a merchant
at Marcellus, N. Y., until 1836, when he came to Allegan, Mich. He entered the
real estate business and later became interested in the lumber business. See
History of Allegan Co., Mich.
5This was the Rev. G. N. Smith, Presbyterian missionary among the Indians
located upon section 3, township of Fillmore. Page's History of Ottawa Co., p. 78.
See Life of Rev. George N. Smith, Vol. XXX, pp. 190-212, this series.
6Mrs. Grootenhuis accompanied these men having volunteered to do their cook-
ing. History of Allegan Co., Mich., p. 78.
THE DUTCH PIONEERS OF MICHIGAN 209
ized as a church. They called Dr. Van der Meulen to lead them. He
conducted one party which sailed from Antwerp. J. Steketee was in
command of another party and J. Van den Luyster of a third.
I will not enter upon an account of the trials and hardships of these
heroic colonists. In many ways their troubles were not different from
those that ordinarily befall pioneers. But in one respect they were pecul-
iar, that is, in that they were endured by a company of people who were
cut off and separated from the sympathy and aid that so often comforts
the settlers of new regions who set forth from older settlements with
which they keep up lines of communication. This little band was
practically compelled "to paddle its own canoe" and that without know-
ing much about a canoe or paddle. And so it happened that the canoe
frequently capsized and the occupants had many an uncomfortable ex-
perience. But what made this experience doubly hard was that they
got no aid or comfort from "the old folks at home." I recall as a boy
hearing of some of the extraordinary adventures and hardships of these
pioneers, and I have in my memory the picture of some of these old
worthies, strong, fearless, unconventional, rough and ready sort of
men, the stuff that heroes and martyrs are made of. It requires a skill-
ful and strong hand to guide and control these elements but such men
as Van Kaalte and Van der Meulen were equal to the situation. It is
probably clear that without a strong central authority this enterprise
would have been shipwrecked. In this colony as in the old Puritan
colony, this authority was an ecclesiastical one. The Church Council
with the minister as the head was the governing power, not only in the
affairs of the Church but also in conduct of business and in all social
relations. And it is interesting to see how powerful even to this day is
the churchly rule among the communicants of the Dutch churches and
yet how loyal and true these people are to their adopted country.
In portraying the type of the Holland pioneers who have made the
towns of Holland, Zeeland, etc., in Ottawa County the garden spot of
this State, for I venture to say that nowhere else in this State is the
land cultivated with so much care, nowhere else will you see such trim
and well kept farmyards, such weedless gardens and such straight
furrows. Let me borrow in substance the words of one who has spent
many years among them and who is, himself, the son of one of the
earliest of these fathers : "Yes, the type is a special one, a marked one.
All are evidently Dutch, they came from every province of the old
country; some from cities, but most from villages or country districts.
Chiefly of the middle and laboring classes, some came who had literally
nothing. Men of all trades and callings they constructed an active
working class. Socially, with few exceptions, the people were of the
humble stations in life and did not possess the culture acquired by a
27
210 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
liberal education and contact with the world. But there were no
pauperized and criminal characters. They settled in colonies or neigh-
borhoods and formed new communities, in which usually the former
inhabitants of one or the other provinces predominated, like Zeeland or
again they became incorporated in some city as Patterson, N. J., Roches-
ter, N. Y., Grand Rapids Michigan." These emigrants were moved by a
common spirit, by natural trait, no idealists or fortune hunters — a
strong faith and high hopes inspired them. Not easily stirred, the liveli-
est sentiments and the deepest enthusiasms took possession of their
hearts. Not given to chance they actually made a very great change.
They broke with their past, parted from their people and sought a new
country on another continent. What made them do it? The desire
of religious freedom, the desire for greater opportunities, the love of a
popular form of government inherited from the days of the Old Dutch
Republic, were the chief motives that impelled them. But of these the
desire for religious freedom was over all the inspiring motive.
They were strong Calvinists in doctrine, most of them of the bluest
stripe. Conservatives of the staunchest sort. They were willing and
ready to make any sacrifice for their convictions. Strange and contra-
dictory as it may seem, Calvinism, freedom, progress are read together
on many a page of modern history. How to account for it? The pivotal
doctrine of that faith is the absolute sovereignty of God. No man's will,
therefore, is absolute; hence the restrictions under social bondage and
the love of personal liberty; hence, also, advancement by education and
discipline. If progress cannot be obtained by these roads, they must
come by revolution or by separation.
The average Dutch colonist may further be described as follows : He
had a strong physical constitution, and was slightly below the average
normal stature. His manner of life was plain. Luxury had not ener-
vated his spirit or weakened his nerves. While he did not have the
smartness of his Yankee neighbor he had fully as much vigor and pluck,
and more patience and industry. The spirit of determination that char-
acterized him is well illustrated in a remark of the heroic leader of this
band who, on an occasion of critical movement, said "The stream in which
I am sinking, I myself shall drink of."
In his home life, the Dutch colonist displayed some beautiful virtues.
His religion pervaded the family circle and bound husband and wife to-
gether. In their trials their hearts did not grow bitter towards each
other, but on the contrary, more tender and sweet. The wives and
mothers of these pioneer days maintained those domestic virtues and
displayed those graces and accomplishments that had been their glory
and pride in the land of their birth. Exquisite housekeepers, they knew
how with the least expenditures to make their homes cheerful and com-
fortable within, and attractive without.
THE DUTCH PIONEERS OF MICHIGAN 211
Our colonist was from the start an American. He did not know
much about the country, but he loved it. It was to him at once a large
and free country. He had been cramped and crowded in Holland and
allowed little liberty. Though clannish in a sense and devotedly at-
tracted to the Dutch Reformed system of doctrine and observance, yet
he was a good deal of an independent and ready to take his place in
the country of his adoption. The progress of assimilation has been
going on for these sixty years, and the grandchildren, if not the chil-
dren of the original settlers, have become thoroughly Americanized in
speech, in manner of living and in the conduct of business. With all
this however, he still possesses the primal qualities of Dutch character,
persistence, patience, industry, religious devotion, love of home and
kindred, a certain independence and a genuine integrity. May these
abide in him and continue to add strength and health to our natural
life.
The population of Hollanders in this country with their descendants
who have emigrated hither since the middle of the last century, it is
estimated numbers about 200,000. By far the largest number reside in
the western part of our own State. To name only the cities and towns,
Grand Rapids, Holland, Kalamazoo, Grand Haven and Zeeland. At
least one-third of the population of Grand Rapids by birth or by descent
is Holland. There are no less than twenty-four Dutch Reformed
churches, in nine of which all the services are in the English language.
I ought to add, however that of these twenty-four churches, thirteen are
Seceders and call themselves the Christian Reformed, and it is these
that are in closest touch and communication with the Seceders of the
old country, strangely enough the very body out of which more than
sixty years ago the original colony under Dr. Van Raalte went forth.
Another important settlement of Hollanders in the west is Pella, Iowa.
The Dutch settlement of Pella has an origin quite similar to that of
Holland, Michigan. Shortly after Van Raalte led his followers to the
wilds of Michigan, a friend and colleague in the ministry at home named
Schotte, conducted a number of co-religionists to Iowa, and founded the
town of Pella. But this settlement never seemed to have had the same
attractions as those in Michigan for the people across the sea and con-
sequently has never enjoyed the same growth and influence. While the
tide of emigration from Holland has for many years been small it
has never wholly dried up. Not a year passes without seeing families
coming over from Holland to this country. It is not at all an uncom-
mon sight in Grand Rapids to see some newly arrived emigrant from
Holland attired in his native costume, serenely walking the streets of
the Valley City as if he had always lived there and quite oblivious of
the gaze of the passerby. How- valuable and praiseworthy an element
212 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the Hollanders are in our diverse population, I will let the pen of an-
other tell. "There is not a more faithful, honest, peaceable and thrifty
class of people in the United States than the Hollanders."
LIFE OF JESSE GROWELL
BY JAMES C. ESLOW1
I have been able to gain the following facts relating to the birth, life,
and death of Mr. Crowell. He was born in Bridgewater, Oneida county,
New York, November 19, 1797, and died at Albion, Michigan, September
28, 1872, aged seventy-four years, ten months and twenty-eight days. This
record we find in his personal Bible, (now the property of Mrs. Smith
Chatfield, soon to belong to the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
by gift of the present owner). We also find the birth and death record
of his father and mother, date of their marriage, and that he had two
sisters and one brother. One sister, Mrs. Sanford, lived here, and she
and her daughter Frances cared for Mr. Crowell's home. During his
boyhood his parents removed to Winfield, Herkimer county, but on
maturity he went South, spending several years in North Carolina and
Georgia; finally returning to New York, he located in the county of
Oswego of which he was a representative in the state legislature, where
he acquitted himself honorably and to the entire satisfaction of his con-
stituency. In the year 1835 he came to Michigan and purchased an
interest in the entire water power in this place and the land embracing
the original village plat. In 1836 was formed the Albion Company of
which he was the agent during its existence and which was dissolved
by mutual consent in 1842. While agent of the company he took an
active part in procuring the location of the Albion Wesleyan Seminary2
(now Albion College) at this place, donating the lands on which the
college stands, as well as quite a tract outside of the building grounds,
sixty acres or more. Here it may be well to say that that company,
eight in number, have all passed away, Mr. Crowell being the last. Upon
the dissolution of the Albion company, Mr. Crowell with three others
of its members became the owners of the water power on the south
branch of the Kalamazoo river, together with the mills located thereon.
The interest of the three others was subsequently purchased by himself
and another. Hence Mr. Orowell was directly identified with all of the
improvements made thereon, with the building of the gristmill, stone-
mill, and the construction of the stone dam, stone flume to the gristmill,
'Read at midwinter meeting, Albion, Jan., 1909.
2See History of AWion College, Vol. II, pp. 204-208, this series.
JESSE CROWELL.
LIFE OF JESSE CROWELL 213
and the beautiful willow walk on the race bank, the willows having
been planted by his own hands. In fact almost every important improve-
ment in the village of Albion was either directly or indirectly connected
with him, and any one writing a history of this village would find it
necessary frequently to recur to his name. In all of his business rela-
tions be designed to be upright and honorable, ever regarding his word
as his bond and, in fact, but few men pass to his age with as clear and
perfect a record as he left behind him. In consequence of heavy repairs
and losses he became somewhat embarrassed financially, and in an un-
lucky hour listened to bad counsel, placing himself in the hands of men
who made promises only to break them. When he became fully con-
vinced of the fact he began to fail rapidly. During his last sickness his
attending physician remarked "that a post-morten examination would
show no disease sufficient to cause death, that age and trouble was the
sole and only cause." But he has now gone to the place "where the
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest," and will be
mourned by all good and true men.
His estate in bankruptcy paid ninety-seven per cent of his creditors'
claims, after paying the necessary large costs of bankruptcy proceed-
ings, showing that he was solvent, and had be handled his own busi-
ness he would have been paid his debts in full and had a competency left.
My father came to Albion in the month of December, 1836. At that
time there was only one frame house which was owned by Wareham
Warner. I was six months old. We stayed with Mr. Warner3 from
Monday until Saturday, while our house was being built. The frame
was prepared at Homer at leisure moments by my father, and moved
here with six ox teams, raised and inclosed enough so that we lived in
it from that time on. Prom his coming my father did most of Mr.
Crowell's work in the line of blacksinithing, practically all the wrought
iron work in the custom and stone mills, to the entire satisfaction of
both. Prominent among the first recollection I have of men and things,
is the memory of Mr. Crowell, and he was to me, all that Washington
was to our country and he seemed to occupy the same relation to Albion.
In the month of February, 1865, it was my privilege to be received by
Abraham Lincoln; I asked for the pardon of my brother-in-law who was
held at Indianapolis in our military prison as a prisoner of war; after
the pardon was granted, at his request Hon. John W. Longyear4 and
3Wareham Warner, one of the original proprietors of Albion, was born in Con-
necticut in 1779 and died in 1854, aged seventy-five years. When a child his
family first went to Chenango Co., N. Y., where, after reaching twenty-one, he
married Cynthia Adams. He moved to Ontario Co., N. Y., and in 1816 went to
Monroe Co., N. Y. In 1831 he came to Michigan, stopping first at Marshall and
in 1834 started to build up Albion. He was the father of ten children. See His-
tory of Calhoun Co., p. 111.
4See sketch in Vol. XXIX, pp. 598-600, this series. Mr. Longyear died March
11, 1875.
214 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
myself remained in the company of Mr. Lincoln for several hours, until
between two and three o'clock in the morning. I refer to this to tell
you that Washington, Lincoln and Jesse Crowell were very much alike
in stature, face and disposition. Mr. CrowelFs opportunities were limit-
ed as compared with theirs, but so far as they were given him he dis-
played the same noble traits of character that they had, unquestionably
honest, truthful, loving, of sweet disposition, beloved by all, to whom
all went for counsel and advice. He never turned a needy applicant
away without help. Kind and generous, he occupied the place of uni-
versal provider in the village. Before his coming, Wareham Warner
had built the dam and millrace on the south branch of the Kalamazoo
river but this went to the Albion company by purchase and they made
the improvements. The first to be built was a sawmill, which stood in
the rear of where the Albion National Bank now stands. How well
I remember it and its sawyer, Mr. Finch,5 father of Justice B. Y. Finch.
The sawmill was of the old type in construction; a heavy saw frame
held the saw, and (as compared with later constructed mills) woulJ
go up one day and down the next; the log was held in place by iron
dogs, and set by hand, and between settings the miller spent the time
in his little office where hung the slate and pencil with which the account
of sawing was kept to be transferred to the company's books at night.
Many an hour I spent there. Next, the custom mill was built; and the
custom work came from miles around. In imagination I see the miller
at his work as he emptied the wheat into the hopper, and took the flour
from the trough under the bolt; first the best flour, next the low grade,
then canaille, (of which emptyings were made) and at the end of the
bolting chest hung the bag that caught the bran and what was left.
Next to be built, was an addition to the custom mill, to be used for
merchant work, which made quite an addition to oiir infant industries,
and all struggling along without a tariff to protect them. This was be-
fore the enactment of the pure food laws, as you will understand when
I tell you of the packing of the flour. The storage was in three flour
chests, or bins, into which the flour was spouted from the bolts and
when one was full, Mr. Crawford Green, or his son Marshall, would
get into it, and calling it "tramp it down," would wallow around in it,
and pack it down as best they could. Then it was shoveled into the
barrels, and placed under a hand press, to finish by this slow process.
Later the steam sawmill was built at Duck Lake and gave employment
to many. After this the stone mill was finished in 1845, a monument
to the energy of Jesse Crowell which will enable the tooth of time to
have something to gnaw upon for these many years to come. It stands
to-day demonstrating his life work. About this time he built "CrowelFs
BAsahel Finch was one of the early settlers of Albion.
LIFE OF JESSE CROWELL 215
freight house/' on the ground now occupied by Hurley's block, to aid
himself in the handling and in shipping the products of his mills. The
Michigan Central Railroad reached our city at this time, the first train
coming in on the 4th of July. It was constructed by the State and
allowed private individuals to erect warehouses, and for this and other
reasons, Mr. Crowell built his warehouse. He built and operated
an ashery, made potash and soap for the public, and in fact did all he
could to make a clean and honest people of those who cast their lot with
him in Albion. He believed as the Englishman did, "As long as you
have soap you have 'ope."
In the years of 1835-6 the people felt free to meet at his office for
the purpose of transacting public or private business which was often
done. During the early days of Albion's life, before there were any
churches, all denominations worshiped in the little red schoolhouse,
and the first in possession on Sunday morning had the right of way. One
Sunday morning the Methodists were a little late, the Episcopalians
were in possession. The Methodists held a conference in one corner
and the result was that Mother Finch, invited them to occupy her house
for worship that day. (Mrs. Finch was the mother of R. Y and James
Finch who are both here and are taking an active part in making this
meeting a success.) After the meeting Elder Grant said to the friends,
"We can't stand this any longer, and we will meet at Mr. Crowell's office
tomorrow, and devise means to build a church." The meeting was held,
the resolution passed that they build a church and have it ready for
service one week from the next Sunday, and that they all start for the
woods, (meaning that they all were to help in the preparation of the
material for the construction of the building) and they did, and held
service, at the precise time ordered by Elder Grant who was a power
in religious matters at that time.
I have made mention of the fact that Mr. Crowell was honest in all
his dealings; but at the same time we had persons with us about whom
the people had doubts. One of these was a man by the name of Chester
Moss. He kept store, carrying a general stock and people became
suspicious of him. To illustrate how it came about I will relate one or
more of his business transactions. We had an honest farmer who traded
with Mr. Moss. As was the custom he sold 'Moss what he had to sell
and bought of him his goods and supplies, among which were liquid
goods for which Dibble had a great liking. It was not an unusual thing
to treat him liberally during his trading so that he would not ask the
prices charged, etc., all of which went into book account to be settled
once a year. During one of these annual settlements Dibble noticed that
he was charged with a number of bushels of wheat, and called Moss'
attention to the fact that he hadn't bought any wheat of him, on the
216 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
contrary had sold him a load of wheat about that time of that number
of bushels. Moss could not quite understand how it happened and
would ask "Dave," one of the clerks, if he could explain it, and he did
by saying that Dibble was right; and then Moss could see it and was
very sorry that it had happened, and only too glad to make it right.
He told Dibble that it was clearly a mistake, and that he wanted to
correct it, and would give him credit in account for the same number
of bushels and that would make it all right. He did so, the settlement
was made on that basis, and Dibble was out his load of wheat. One
day he sold him a clock, taking his note for it, but Dibble's condition
when ready for home was not favorable for the safe transit of the
clock, so he was advised to leave it, which he did. And twice after that
they sold him the same clock taking his note in payment, each time.
Moss got rich, Dibble and others became poor, and concluded that Moss
needed watching.
The lumber at Mr. Crowell's mills was sawed from green timber, and
for the reason that we had no kiln-drys or time for seasoning it before
using, much of the lumber used shrunk after being in the buildings.
The experience of Oarlton Cooley's father will illustrate how much
whitewood shrunk from the green to the seasoned state. Carl was a
wagonmaker, and all wagonmakers were supposed to be truthful men
at that time. My father was in the business and I was interested with
him. Cooley and I were talking about seasoned spokes, of which we
had plenty, and to inform me of the change that took place in the sea-
soning of some kinds of timber, namely whitewood, he said that his
father had a room in his house in Marengo, that was twelve feet square,
which he used twelve boards each a foot wide to make the floor, and it
shrunk the first year so that he drove it up and put in a foot board,
and did this for twelve years before it stopped shrinking. Everybody
who knew Carl Cooley relied upon him but used his own judgment when
listening. To substantiate Mr. Cboley's statement I have to add what
an old resident who came here in 1836 and lives here now told me about
whitewood shrinking. He said a man went back to New York, and with
other things to show his old friends of the wonderful things in Mich-
igen, he put a piece of whitewood in his trunk. After being there a while
he was telling them of it and went to his trunk but could not find it.
He thought it must have been taken out ; but later the rainy season came
on after which he was looking for something else, and to his great
surprise found the piece of w^hitewood in its original condition. To
further strengthen Mr. Cooley ; he was a horse trader, in fact a general
all-round trader. I will never forget him; he traded me the first yelter
watch I ever owned. For it I gave him a fine sulky wood, a lot of
seasoned spokes, and felleys, and other wagon stock, that were as good
LIFE OF JESSE CROWELL 217
as gold and is as good demand. The trade was hardly completed before
I saw he had much the better of the bargain, and for that reason it
was several days before I showed the watch to my father. When I did
and told him what I traded for it, he asked me if we didn't have any
thing else that Cooley wanted, which assured me that my opinion was
good as to who got the better of the trade. But I resolved to even
up with him which I did later on in a horse trade, and felt content when
my father said to me, "James you are even now on the yeller watch
trade." These are only a few of the pleasant incidents that happened
during the early history of Albion, but I was not asked to relate inci-
dents, but to present the early life of Albion and Mr. Crowell's connec-
tion with it. His words of encouragement went into each one's life,
and he was interested in all of our infant industries, in fact was the
moving spirit that fostered them and insured their success. To the farmer
his presence was encouragement; he was his banker, his provider; in
time of need he furnished him storage for his surplus grain ; all that was
asked to show for it was his wheat receipt, which was redeemed with
cash or placed to the credit of the seller as he wished.
As I listen to the church bells ringing, the thought often comes to
me that the peals of gladness are only the echo of the words of encour-
agement given the infant society by him years ago. These he gave to all
denominations alike, also material aid, thereby making it possible for
us to have the number of churches and their bells; and the added
thought, that they may be ringing his praise, in unison with praise to
God who created such a man and blessed Albion by placing him with
us. He made no profession of religion, was not a member of any church,
yet he contributed to the support of the Methodist Church. [I am of
the opinion that he did to all of the churches.] In the Methodist
Church, his slips were in the southeast corner, and were regarded as
free seats, but from the fact of their being very desirable ones were
used for the guests of the church on state occasions, when not occupied
by him or his friends.
When I was asked, by the Jesse Crowell Monument Association, to
prepare and present the above facts, it was thought proper to present
them at this time, and especially so for the reason the meeting was
called to convene here for the purpose of gaining and preserving as
much of Calhoun county and Albion history as possible, and that could
not be written without giving Mr. Crowell a prominent place. What
he did was public property, all in attendance would be interested, that
we would also refer to what icas being done to perpetuate his memory,
this to be considered as addressed to our home people, and his friends
wherever they may reside who desire to aid us in our work and not as
an appeal to visitors who have shown an interest in the Michigan
218 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Pioneer and Historical Society, and Albion. To do this makes it nec-
essary to look at the facts as presented to us as an association. As has
been stated in an unlucky hour he listened to bad counsel, and his
property was exhausted, and to-day he lies in an unmarked grave. The
Association has been organized for the purpose of erecting a suitable
monument to perpetuate his memory; one of small dimensions would
best suit him, were he here to express his wishes, but it is the desire of
the Association to erect a suitable monument to represent him, his noble
nature and his works. It has been my privilege and pleasure to view
our nation's gift to the memory of Washington, in the City of Washing-
ton; a shaft 555 feet high, the highest monument erected to the memory
of man. And it is right that it should be, as he was the greatest man
mentioned in our history. "First in war, first in peace, and first in the
hearts of his countrymen." The Association feel that they want to erect
the finest one to the memory of Mr. Crowell that shall adorn the grounds
of our beautiful "Riverside Cemetery." To do this we must have money.
It is our desire that all persons in our community give all they can to
aid in carrying forward this work, and be ready to respond liberally
when called upon, as time is money with the solicitors. Try and give
as much as you can, instead of seeing how little will answer. To erect
a small, cheap marker should not be done and will be regretted some-
time by all. To do more means money and plenty of it.
It is well to remember that money is given us to be used and not to
hoard. It has its value this side of the grave not beyond. What we
put to good use we never regret. All who live here and are enjoying the
comforts and pleasures made possible by the early efforts of Jesse
Crowell should regard it a privilege to contribute to this cause. Robert
Y. Finch is president, H. M. Bearing secretary and treasurer of the
Monument Association; either of them will receive your contributions.
Citizens of Albion! our streets and public parks were dedicated to the
public, by Jesse Crowell, and yet not one bears his name. It seems
proper that his name should be given to our beautiful park on North
Superior street, and what ever is necessary to accomplish this will be
done at no distant day, and it is hoped that all will join in having this
done.
GREETING 219
GREETING
BY GEORGE W. STONE1
There are a great many things of which the old pioneers of Calhoun
county may well be proud. The county contains 720 square miles — in
1837 the population was 4,863 or a fraction over six inhabitants to the
square mile. In 1904 the population was 52,963 which gave about seventy-
three inhabitants to each square mile, making a gain on each section in
the county of sixty-six inhabitants in seventy-one years. The resources
in an early day were all the pioneer could ask notwithstanding that we
had an abundance of fever and ague which was a sure sign that any man
too lazy to shake would not remain long in the county, which accounts
for its rapid progress and prosperity.
Oalhoun was blessed with an abundance of fine water, as pure and
clear as crystal, coming from springs, brooks, creeks and beautiful
lakes all over the county and mostly emptying into the Kalamazoo River
which finally makes its course westward to Lake Michigan. The timber
was plentiful — white, red and burr oak, hickory, basswood, black walnut
and tamarack which were used for buildings and fences. We also had
plenty of what we boys called "popple," that we used for making whistles.
The soil was very rich. A large portion of the county was burr-oak
openings. The yield of our products consisting principally of wheat,
corn, oats, rye, hay, potatoes and vegetables, horses, cattle, sheep and
hogs makes us rank with the best counties in Michigan.
W!e certainly can lay claim to some large manufacturing interests.
Three of our cities have a population of 31,517, which is one-half of the
entire population of the whole county — Albion, 4,943; Battle Creek,
22,213 ; Marshall, 4,361. Calhoun county's record during the Civil War
is in my estimation and in the estimation of every individual who loves
his country, the crowning glory of all. She furnished more soldiers dur-
ing the Civil War, according to her population, than any county in the
State, only four counties contributing more, as is shown in the following
report:
Population 1860. No. soldiers.
Calhoun : . . . 22,378 3,878
Kent 26,661 4,214
Lenawee -. 38,112 4,437
Washtenaw 35,681 4,081
Wayne 75,547 9,213
'Read at midwinter meeting at Albion, 1909.
220 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Is this not a record of which to be proud?
You may think from my enthusiasm that I am a native of Calhoun
county, but I am not. I was brought from New York City and trans-
planted here in 1856 when seven years old. On my arrival I was friend-
less and homeless. I was taken in, clothed, fed and sent to school and
given the name I now bear. The only way I can ever recompense Simeon
A. Stone and his wife, my good old foster father and mother, is never
to disgrace, but always aim to honor my adopted name. No boy ever
had better parents. My father Stone came to see me at Kichmond, Va.,
while I was in the hospital during the war.
I meet here today many old pioneers whom I have known over fifty
years. They all know my boyhood history and I speak of it here to
assure them I appreciate what Albion and Albion people did for me, a
homeless, friendless orphan.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES IN STATE AND
NATIONAL HISTORY1
BY JOHN C. PATTERSON
INTRODUCTION
Emerson has said, "An institution is the lengthened shadow of one
man." It can with equal propriety be said that a beneficent achievement
and a progressive reform are the lengthened shadow of some efficient
leader seemingly raised up for the purpose, whose influence on mankind
is beyond measure. Marshall has had several such leaders, men who
have formulated measures, perfected governmental policies and have set
in motion political forces which have brought forth results and have
produced consequences of far-reaching magnitude. While as citizens of
Marshall, we cherish a local pride in claiming them as pioneer citizens
of our city, we cannot claim them as all our own, for their work, in-
fluence and achievements were not confined to our city, county or State,
but have been rendered, exercised and felt over the United States, and
in fact over the whole world. This city, this State, this nation and the
world at large are under lasting obligations to Isaac E. Orary,2 the
founder of the public school system of Michigan, to John D. Pierce,3
the organizer of the said public school system and the father of the Home-
stead Exemption Law of Michigan, and to Charles T. Gorham, Oliver
C. Oomstock, Jr., Asa B. Cook, Jarvis Hurd, John M. Easterly, George
delivered at midwinter meeting, Jan. 13, 1909.
2See sketch, Vol. XIV, p. 282, this series.
3See sketch, Vol. XXXV, p. 295, this series and Bingham Biographies, 582.
JUDGE JOHN C. PATTERSON.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 221
Ingersoll, Herman Camp, Randal Hobart, Platner Moss, William Parker,
Charles Berger, James Smith, Hovey K. Clarke, Erastus Hussey and
other citizens of Marshall, in arousing sentiments, directing influences,
and in starting forces into action which eventually overthrew American
slavery. It is not to be forgotten that many other workers were labor-
ing for the same end, and for years had been preparing the way ; but the
acts, counsel and influences of these Marshall men can be traced directly
in a continuous course and by a connected chain of events into measures,
and organization which eliminated African slavery from our land. It
is the purpose of this paper to trace the little leaven while it was leaven-
ing the whole lump, and to follow its influences and acts to final results.
I.
ISAAC E. CRARY,
The Founder of the Public School System of Michigan
Isaac E. Crary was an influential member of the constitutional con-
vention of 1835 which formulated our first state constitution. As chair-
man of the Committee on Education, he drew up, reported and secured
the adoption of the article on education in that instrument which, for
the first time in American history, provided for the separate department
of public instruction in the state government, with a constitutional officer
at its head and which, for the first time in our history, provided that the
title of section sixteen in each township, reserved in the ordinance of
1785 and consecrated by the ordinance of 1787 for the primary schools,
should be vested in the State as trustee for the perpetual support of the
common schools throughout the State, and which also, for the first time
provided that the title to the university lands should be vested in the
State as trustee, and that the income therefrom should become an endow-
ment fund for the maintenance of the state university. These provisions
not only applied to the lands already granted but to all rands which
should afterwards be granted to the State.
In this article on education, which in the final arrangement became
Article X of the constitution of 1835, conceived, formulated and reported
by Isaac E. Crary, the separate department of education with an execu-
tive officer at its head, was established, the broad scope of public instruc-
tion was provided for, and the financial foundation of our public school
system was secured. This article is now and always has been the Magna
Charta of our public schools.4. Few persons have any adequate concep-
tion of the broad scope and far-reaching influence of this article.
^Report of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1880, pp. 297, 315; History of
the University of Michigan, Hinsdale and Demmon, pp. 17, 18.
222 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Isaac E. Grary was the founder of the public school system of Michi-
gan. This proposition is not in accord with the popular opinion and is
in conflict with much that has been published, and the original documents
must be appealed to in order to determine his real historic status. On
the fourth day of April, 1835, Isaac E. Crary was elected a delegate from
Oalhoun county to the constitutional convention to convene on the llth
of May following. On the 13th of May, Mr. Crary in convention moved
a standing committee on education.5 On the 14th of May, Mr. Crary
was appointed chairman of such committee.6 On the second day of June
he reported the article on education7 and on the fifth day of June the
said article without material change was adopted by the convention.*
On the 23d day of June, Mr. Crary was appointed a member of the com-
mittee on the ordinance submitting the said constitution to Congress,9
and on the 24th day of June, the said ordinance was reported and
adopted by the convention. This ordinance, recognizing the then exist-
ing policy of vesting the title of the school lands in the township, pro-
posed a new policy and required that the title of the school lands be
vested in the State as trustee for the support of the schools throughout
the State as one of the conditions for admission into the Union. This
proposed tenure of primary school lands would change the uniform
practice of the federal government during its entire existence, and this
provision was inserted in such ordinance by Mr. Crary to secure a change
of such policy and to vest the educational lands in the State by con-
gressional enactment as provided for in said Article X of the constitu-
tion.
The constitution and accompanying ordinance10 were formulated and
adopted by the convention in May and June, 1835, and three thousand
copies were immediately published and distributed broadcast throughout
the Territory. Thus these three new measures which have since revolu-
tionized public school matters in this country were published to the world
in the summer of 1835.11 This constitution was ratified by the people
of the Territory on the first Monday of October, 1835, and at the same
election Mr. Crary was elected a member of Congress. He went to Wash-
ington at the opening of the following session of Congress relying on the
constitution as the foundation for his credentials, but in consequence
of the boundary controversy, he was not seated for over fifteen months
thereafter. The said constitution and accompanying ordinance were sub-
*Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, p. 18.
"Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, p. 26.
^Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, p. 88.
^Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, pp. 120-126.
"Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, p. 218.
^Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, pp. 219-220; Public Instruction
and School Laivs of 1852, p. 17..
^Journal of Constitutional Convention of 1835, p. 221.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 223
mitted to Congress by the President on the ninth of December, 1835.12
On the fifteenth day of June, 1836, Congress "accepted, ratified, and
confirmed" the said constitution and thereby adopted Mr. Crary's system
of land tenure, but it took no action on the accompanying ordinance.13
In the supplemental act of June 23, 1836, Congress rejected said ordi-
nance as a whole, but it made a counter proposition to Michigan which
contained Mr. Crary's system of vesting the title of educational lands.14
Mr. Crary, though not given his seat in Congress, was in Washington
guarding and guiding this new measure. While working with the com-
mittee, having charge of the legislation of Michigan's admission to the
Union, fortunately the work of drawing up the ordinances of June 15th,
and of June 23rd, ^1836, were assigned to Mr. Crary. He discreetly drew
the said ordinance of June 15th so as to obtain the assent of Congress
to the provisions of said Article X of the constitution, and on the rejec-
tion of said ordinance he carefully drew the counter proposition to Michi-
gan in the act of June 23rd so as to again secure the same result.15
Mr. Crary's influence is apparent upon the face of these measures. Fortu-
nate indeed, was it for Michigan and for the cause of public instruction,
that Mr. Crary was in Washington and secured by congressional compact
his great measures embodied in the article on education in the constitu-
tion of 1835. This counter proposition of Congress to Michigan, con-
taining the said ordinance of June 23rd, so far as the tenure of educa-
tional lands was concerned, was accepted by the legislature of Michigan,
July 28th, 1836.16 In this manner, the titles to the primary school lands
and seminary lands were secured and forever vested in the State as
trustee for the maintenance of such schools and university, by constitu-
tional enactment and by congressional and legislative compact long be-
fore January 26th, 1837, when Michigan was formally admitted into
the Union.
Mr. Crary's policy of vesting the title of the primary school lands in
the State, as trustee for the people of the State at large, changed the
policy of vesting the title of such school lands in the several townships
to aid the schools therein, which had for fifty years been uniformly
followed by the federal government. The ordinance of 1785 for the first
time reserved school lands for public purposes, reserving section sixteen
in each township "for the maintenance of the public schools within such
township." In Ohio and Indiana, the primary school lands in each town-
12The Old Northwest, Hinsdale, p, 330.
13U. 8. Laws, 1835-1859, p. 337; I Brightly's Digest of the U. 8. Laws, 1789 to
1859, p. 614; 5 U. 8. Statutes at Large 49.
149 U. 8. Laws, 1793 to 1859, p. 397; I Brightly's Digest of U. 8. Laws, 1789 to
1859, p. 615; 5 U. 8. Statutes at Large 59; Mich. Pioneer and Historical Colls., Vol.
VII, p. 21.
"Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 40; Cooley's History
of Michigan, p. 320.
™Laws of Michigan for 1836, pp. 39, 49.
224 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ship had been "granted to the inhabitants of such townships for the use
of schools."17
Such lands in Illinois "had been "granted to the inhabitants of such
townships for the use of schools."18
The school lands of Michigan were excepted from sale by the act of
March 26th, 1804, as "section sixteen shall be reserved in each township
for the support of schools within the same."19
Mr. Crary clearly realized the weakness and dangers of the federal
policy. He was also familiar with the barren and disastrous results of
that policy in the other states previously organized out of the Northwest
Territory.20 He conceived, formulated and secured the adoption of a
policy which avoided the weakness and dangers of the old system and
secured the inestimable benefits of the new. Time and experience have
demonstrated the wisdom of the Crary or the Michigan policy — it has
been accepted and followed by the federal government, and by all the
states receiving primary school lands, which have since been admitted
to the Union.21
Congress adopted this system of land tenure in its magnificent grant
for agricultural colleges, July 2, 18G2, vested the title in such lands in
the several states as trustees, and required that the proceeds thereof be
perpetually reserved as an endowment fund and that the interest thereof
should forever be used for the "endowment, support and maintenance"
of such schools.22
Thus Isaac E. Crary though dead, rendered invaluable services in
securing the endowment for the Michigan Agricultural College. Mr.
Crary's great measure, for the first time set down in Section 1 of Article
X of the Constitution of 1835, providing for an independent department
of public instruction with a constitutional officer in the State govern-
ment, has been copied by nearly all the states, and the Federal Bureau
of Education is an outgrowth of this measure. Mr. Crary's wise states-
manship not only secured and provided for our magnificent school funds,
but being followed by other states, it has been the approximate cause of
securing the magnificent school funds in those states adopting his system.
The seminary or university lands in Ohio were conveyed directly to the
universities or companies receiving such lands for the purposes of the
universities, and the title was never vested in the State. Such lands
in Indiana and Illinois were respectively "vested in the legislature of
said State to be appropriated solely to the use of such seminary by said
172 U. 8. Statutes at Large, 173, and 3 U. S. Statutes at Large 389.
183 U. S. Statutes at Large 428.
194 U. S. Laws, 1789-1818, p. 598.
20Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1880, p. 51.
21Mich. Semi-Centennial Address, Sill, pp. 199, 200.
2212 U. S. Statutes at Large 503; 2 Brightly's Digest of U. S. Laws, 1857-1865,
p. 289.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 225
legislature."23 One township of our university land was excepted from
sale by said act of March 26, 1804, as a township "for the use of a semi-
nary of learning."
It will be observed that in these states, the seminary and university
lands and the proceeds thereof were placed in a general fund, available
for any seminary or university purpose -whatever in the discretion of
the legislature. Mr. Crary secured a radical change in the nature of these
funds. Section 3 of Article X of the constitution of 1835 provided that
the proceeds from such lands "shall be and remain a permanent fund
for the purpose of said university." The ordinance of the constitutional
convention setting forth the conditions upon which the Territory was
willing to be admitted into the Union provided that the university lands
should be conveyed to the State and "shall ~bc appropriated solely for
the use and support of such university in the manner as the legislature
may prescribe," and the congressional ordinance of June 23rd, 1836, in
the counter proposition to Michigan used the language above quoted.
These words were written by Isaac E. Crary and were crystalized into
constitutional enactment and congressional compact by the magic of his
genius. These words converted the general funds under the Indiana and
Illinois policy into a specific and perpetual endowment fund for the
Michigan university.
This endowment fund sustained the university for thirty years of its
most critical history, and enabled it to make a name, and to acquire a
fame as a great educational institution, which attracted to it and over-
whelmed it with students and compelled the legislature to come to its
relief and provide means to accommodate the ever increasing hosts of
students from all over the world, knocking at its doors for admission.
Michigan university thus founded and endowed, to-day not only stands
in the first rank of such institutions, but is the acknowledged model of
all the flourishing state universities in the west.
It must not be forgotten that Mr. Crary completed his great work for
education in the constitutional convention and Congress prior to June
26th, 1836. Where was John D. Pierce, the alleged founder of the public
school system, during the time that Mr. Crary was doing this work?
He was an obscure missionary in the wilds of Michigan, unknown out-
side the little hamlet where he resided and by a few scattering pioneers
in the vicinity, who were fortunate enough to receive his ministrations'.
Mr. Crary gave to Michigan -three measures which have produced our
magnificent school system, viz :
First — He created a centralized department of public instruction with
a. constitutional officer at its head in the state government.
Second — He vested the entire primary school funds in the State to be
^3 U. 8. Statutes at Large 220, 428; 1 Brightly's Digest of Laws of 1815-1819,
pp. 69, 294.
29
226 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
held by the State as trustee and required the income thereof to be appor-
tioned for "the support of schools throughout the State" forever.
Third — He converted a general fund, available for any university pur-
pose into a specific endowment fund for Michigan university, and vested
the title of such funds in the State as sole trustee and required the in-
come thereof to be perpetually used for the maintenance of said univer-
sity. Mr. Crary grasped the principle that centralization was essential
for prompt and effectual power, and he incorporated that principle into
his measures for educational supervision, tenure of educational lands
and administration of educational funds. While the department of edu-
cation was borrowed from the centralized Prussian system, Mr. Crary
adapted it to a republican form of local self-government. In the tenure
of educational lands, he rejected the assumption that the township was
the unit of all government, and that the township meeting was the source
of all political power, which up to his time, had molded the federal
policy; and he made the State sovereign over the public schools and of
educational funds. Truly Mr. Crary possessed the understanding to
conceive, the wisdom to direct and the hand to execute the essential
elements of successful statesmanship.
The work and statesmanship of Isaac E. Crary have thus far been con-
sidered in his legislative capacity, as a member of the constitutional con-
vention of 1835 and as an unseated member of the first session of the
Twenty-fourth Congress, but his subsequent labors and achievements in
executive statesmanship were no less brilliant and far-reaching in in-
fluence.
Having created the office of superintendent of public instruction, as
a further service to the cause of education, Mr. Crary sought a fit man
to fill that office, and from the great mass of the unknown, he selected
Reverend John D. Pierce and secured his appointment as such officer to
execute the great educational work he had laid out and begun. Mr.
Crary not only created the office but he also created the officer, and
thereby made the great achievements of John D. Pierce a possibility.
Undoubtedly had it not been for his acquaintance with Mr. Crary, John
D. Pierce wonld ne*ver have been known as an educator. Michigan and
the worid are indebted to the influence and sagacity of Isaac E. Crary
for the great achievements of John D. Pierce in the educational domain.
Mr. Crary was a member of the first board of regents of the state
university and served from 1837 to 1844. He helped locate, organize,
open and govern the university during its early struggle for existence.
He was the only man on the original board of regents who had made
schools and colleges a special study,24 and he rendered invaluable ser-
vices in preparing the curriculum of study and providing for the teach-
ztHistory of the University of Michigan, Hinsdale and Demmon, p. 30.'
MARSHALL, MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 227
ing department.25 He was a co-laborer with Mr. Pierce for four years
in establishing and building up this institution, and as a regent, he
labored for the university for years after Mr. Pierce had retired from
office.
In 1842, Mr. Crary was a member of the state house of representatives
and as the chairman of the committee on education, he prepared and made
a report which being adopted by the legislature protected the university
funds and retained the supervision of the department of public instruc-
tion over the institution and saved it from threatening danger. Mr.
Crary was also a member and speaker of the same house in 1846, and
here again he labored to build up, and to perfect the public school sys-
tem of the State.
The Marshall Union School was one of the first graded schools organ-
ized in the State. Isaac E. Crary as a leading member of the old, and
as the most influential member of the new school board, rendered ser-
vices which few men could render in organizing, opening, and putting
that school into successful operation and in developing the union school
system. He was one of the great leaders in the evolution of the present
day high school system, out of the primary, graded and union schools of
his time, which now at public expense, performs the work of the old
time private teacher, academy, seminary and branches of the university.
Mr. Crary was a leading member, president pro-tern and chairman of
the committee on judiciary department in the constitutional convention
of 1850. Here again his wisdom and influence were felt in expanding
and perfecting the great school system which he had established in
Article X of the constitution of 1835. John D. Pierce was also a lead-
ing member of this convention and here the two great apostles of pub-
lic instruction of Michigan were able to provide for their long cherished
free school system, which was unattainable at an earlier date. Isaac
B. Crary, as we have seen helped to formulate the only two constitu-
tions this State ever had, and he left the impress of his influence upon
both instruments.
Mr. Crary was a member of the state board of education from 1850
to the time of his death, May 8th, 1854. His commanding influence as
leader and executive officer was felt in the organization, opening and
putting of our first normal school at Ypsilanti. It will be remembered
that at that time, normal schools were somewhat unusual, that this
was the first school of the kind established in the west and that many
questions came up for solution.
While the separate department of public instruction was borrowed
from the Prussian system, the tenure of educational lands from the
constitution of New York,26 and the mode of administering public school
^History of Higher Education in Michigan, McLaughlin, p. 39.
™New York Constitution of 1821, Section 1 of Article VII.
228 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
funds from the constitution of Connecticut.27 Mr. Crary combined these
wise measures and founded a composite public school system in Mich-
igan, which has never been excelled and which has since been universally
adopted and will be followed as a precedent for centuries to come.
The original documents show that Mr. Crary formulated the legislation
and founded the public school system of Michigan, that he was the lead-
ing organizer of our high school and normal school system, and that
he was the most competent and influential regent in organizing the
university, and yet, how many of his uncounted beneficiaries, give
him credit for his great public services? Has not the distinction due
him been awarded to another?
Why has John D. Pierce in recent years been so generally called the
founder of the public school system of Michigan ? This honor does not ap-
pear to have been awarded him during the life-time of Mr. Crary. An able
article appeared in the Democratic Review of July, 1888, upon the public
school system of Michigan, citing Hon. Lucius Lyon,28 a member of the
constitutional convention of 1835 and then United States Senator from
Michigan as authority. That writer gave a complete outline of the sys-
tem and praised Mr. Pierce for his work in organizing the schools under
such a system, but he did not give to him the position of founder of
such system.29 The reserved and reticent Isaac E.- Crarj, so far as I
have been able to find, has left no written account of his great life-
work. John D. Pierce, long after Mr. Crary's death, published his ver-
sion of their joint and several labors. It is usual for autobiographers
to make their subjects prominent. While with justifiable egotism Mr.
Pierce expressed an honest pride in his part of the work, he did not,
however, claim to be the founder of the school system of Michigan, and
his paper clearly established the fact that Mr. Crary was the founder.
Mr. Pierce gave Mr. Crary equal credit with himself, as a private citizen,
in approving the Prussian system of an independent department of pub-
lic instruction in the state government, and also approving the mode
of vesting the title of the primary school and university lands in the
State as trustees for such schools and university.30 Mr. Pierce gave Mr.
Crary the exclusive credit, as a member of the constitutional conven-
tion, of drawing, reporting, and securing the adoption of the article on
education in the constitution of 1835. He also gave Mr. Crary, as a
member of Congress, the exclusive credit of drafting the several ordi-
nances for the admission of Michigan into the Union. Mr. Pierce gave
Mr. Crary the exclusive credit of converting the educational ideals,
which they had discussed and jointly approved, into enduring constitu-
-' 'Connecticut Constitution of 1818, Article VIII.
28For sketch, see Vol. XIII, p. 325, this series.
292 Democratic Review, p. 370.
^Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. 1, p. 37.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 229
tions and effective statutes. He also gave Mr. Crary the exclusive credit
of securing his appointment as the first superintendent of public instruc-
tion in any constitutional government.31
Upon receiving his appointment, Mr. Pierce commenced his work in
the educational field. He filed his first official report and presented the
accompanying measure to the legislature on the fifth day of January,
1837.32 measures were passed and approved March 18th, 20th and 21st,
1837.33 These dates show that Mr. Crary had laid the foundation, and
had secured the funds for the public school system, long before Mr.
Pierce began his work in the field of public instruction. Prior Tempore
Prior Jure.
A local editorial published two days after his death says: "In 1835,
General Crary was elected from this county, a member of the constitu-
tional convention. He was, in that body, chairman of the committee
on education, and had drafted Article X of the constitution, which pro-
vides for the appointment of superintendent of public instruction ; made
it imperative on the legislature to encourage the promotion of intellec-
tual, scientific and agricultural improvements ; made the proceeds of
all the lands that had been, and should be granted to the State for the
support of the schools a perpetual fund, the interest of which was to
be inviolably devoted to the support of schools; provided for a system
of primary schools and for the establishment of libraries, and made the
funds arising from rent and sale of lands granted for the university
also a perpetual fund. These educational provisions were greatly in
advance of the times. Gen. Crary. had made the subject of education a
study, and the State is indebted to him for the wisdom, which has re-
sulted so greatly to the benefit of our people, in the consolidation of
the school fund and the establishment of the school system. His interest
in the subject never flagged. He was as devoted to the subject and to
the system in which he was instrumental in establishing, at the day
of his death, as he was when he drafted the provisions of the constitu-
tion. He has been constantly connected with the system, too, as a legis-
lator, as a member of the board of regents, member of the board of
education, of which he was president, and of the school inspector,
moderator and director in the district where he resided. He was one
of the founders of the Union School of this village and had charge of
the location and erection of the building. In all these capacities he
showed a zeal in the cause which never tired, a spirit of devotion in the
interest of the rising generation which commanded the respect and won
the esteem of all."34 This article gives an impartial summary and a
3lMichigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 39.
S2Public Instruction and Scl-ool Laws of 1852, p. 33.
™Laws of 1837, pp. 102, 116-209.
"Marshall Statesman, May 10, 1854, Vol. XV, No. 37.
230 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
just estimate of his public services, and it clearly indicates that Isaac
E. Crary was regarded by his cotemporaries as the founder of the public
school system of Michigan.
II.
JOHN D. PIERCE
The Organizer of the Public Sshool System of Michigan
John D. Pierce was the organizer of the public school system of Mich-
igan. The original documents must also determine the truth of this
proposition. The constitution of 1835 provided for the appointment of
a superintendent of public instruction, "whose duties shall be prescribed
by law." Section three of an act of the legislature approved July 26,
1836, entitled, "An act to define the duties of the superintendent of
public instruction and other purposes" contained the following pro-
vision he shall "prepare and digest a system for the organization and
establishment of common schools and a university and its branches."35
Governor Mason in his annual message to the legislature, January 2,
1837, said "The superintendent of public instruction will report to you
a system for the government of the University of Michigan and for the
organization of the public schools of the state."36 The superintendent's
report was made to the legislature January 5th, 1837,37 and it discussed
plans and prices for the sale of primary school and university lands,
modes of investing the money, and it also recommended and explained
plans for the organization of the primary schools and university of the
State.38 It submitted three bills to the legislature providing for such
plans. The first measure, approved March 18th, 1837, was entitled "An
Act to provide for the organization and government of the University
of Michigan."39 The second measure, approved March 20th, 1837, was
entitled "An Act to provide for the organization and support of primary
schools."40 The third measure approved March 23rd, 1837, was entitled
"An Act to provide for the disposition of the University and primary
school lands and for other purposes."41 These several acts were amended
in June, 1837, and the amendatory acts contained the same titles.42
These titles indicate the scope and purpose of the statutes, and Mr.
Pierce's official life was spent in carrying out their provisions. These
B5Laws of 1836, p. 50.
^Governor's Annual Message, 1837, p. 12; Public Instruction and School Laws
of 1852, p. 22.
^Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1880, p. 302.
^Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1880, p. 23.
39Laws of 1837, p. 102.
*°Laws of 1837, p. 116.
"Laws of 1837, p. 209.
*2Laws of 1837, pp. 308, 316, 324.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 231
statutes provided for the organization of the common schools and the
state university. They authorized and required the superintendent of
public instruction to sell primary school and university lands, and
to use the proceeds in the organization of the primary schools and the
university. Mr. Pierce's authority and official work were confined to the
field of organization of a public school system out of materials already
furnished, and upon a foundation already laid by Mr. Crary. Ex Super-
intendent of Public Instruction, Francis W. Shearman, a co-temporary
and neighbor of both Mr. Crary and Mr. Pierce and for a time asso-
ciated with Mr. Pierce as editor of the Journal of Education, declared
in the presence of the writer, that Isaac E. Crary was the founder and
that John D. Pierce was the organizer, of the public school system of
Michigan, and in his historic sketches of such a system, he outlined the
evidence and detailed the fact which supported such classification.43
Professors Ten Brook, McLaughlin, Hinsdale, Demmon, Gower, Sill,
Putnam and other discriminating writers, relying upon the original
documents for authority, also detail facts which lead clearly to the same
distinction.
The organizer of a great public school system is not without honor.
A Cornell, a Kockefeller or a Stanford can endow, but it requires the
wisdom and the genius of a White, a Harper, or a Jordan to success-
fully organize a university. Alexander Hamilton could formulate, but
only a John Marshall could interpret the Federal Constitution and
make it a living -force. John D. Pierce was a constructive statesman
but his fame as such depends upon his achievements in behalf of our
system of homestead exemptions, as disclosed by the debates and journal
of the constitutional convention of 1850, but not as the founder of our
public school system in 1835. This will be more fully referred to here-
after.
It is conceded by all that Mr. Pierce entered upon his educational
work at a later date, and that he used the materials already provided
and built upon the foundation already laid by Mr. Crary. With these
facts admitted, and with the original documents extant, what a marvel
it is, that the title of the founder has been withheld from Mr. Crary,
and that it has so generally been awarded to Mr. Pierce. One writer
says: "Rev. John D. Pierce aided by Hon. Isaac E. Crary, was the
founder of our educational system."44 The record shows that Hon. Isaac
E. Crary was the founder, subsequently John D. Pierce was the organ-
izer of such system. The biographers of Mr. Pierce — Part II., entitled
"Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1850, p. 56 et sequitor;
Public Instruction and School Laws of Michigan, 1852, pp. 12-15, 29-37; Report
of Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1880, p. 300 et sequitor; Rust's His-
tory of Calhoun County (1869), p. 41; Evart's History of Calhoun County from
1830-1877, p. 25.
"Michigan Pioneer and Historical Coll., Vol. V, p. 45.
232 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"John D. Pierce was the founder of the Michigan School system" — say,
"Some people hold that Mr. Crary never received his due recognition for
the share he had in the establishment of our school system, and that
the, rather than Mr. Pierce, should get the credit for the plan. A good
deal of investigation has persuaded us, that there is no real ground
for such belief." 45 That conclusion could not have been founded upon the
original documents. Another writer says : "John D. Pierce is conceded,
and justly, to have been the founder of the Michigan school system."46
Others, among whom are men of eminence, have embraced and pro-
claimed the same historical heresy. Did these writers examine Article
X of the constitution of 1835 and the authentic records cited? Is it
true in fact, that history is merely an accredited fable? This continent
was discovered by the enterprise and genius of Christopher Columbus,
and yet it unjustly bears the name of a subsequent explorer. I submit
that the records of the constitutional convention of 1835 and the his-
tory of the first session of the 24th Congress, together with the legisla-
tive records of. 1836, and 1837 of this State, not only disprove the
quotations above made, but that they establish beyond all controversy,
that Isaac E. Crary wus the founder of the public school system of
Michigan, and that such a system was founded long before John D.
Pierce entered upon his educational career, or had any official existence.
After his appointment to office, Mr. Pierce commenced the work of
organizing the public schools and the state university, out of the ma-
terials furnished him, and upon the foundation already laid and- ac-
cording to the plans outlined in Article X of the state constitution.
He threw his great soul and magnetic influence into the work. He in-
spired governors, legislators, school officers and people with his own
ear-nest enthusiasm, and he was accepted and followed as prime leader
in the enterprise. He drew the primary school law of 1837, borrowing
freely from the public school system of New York, and from other
states.47 He formulated bills for the re-organization of the state uni-
versity and for the management and disposition of educational lands.
He had the fifty years of experience of Thomas Jefferson in the evolution
and establishment of the university of Virginia before him as an aid.
It will be remembered that Jefferson was not only the father of the
University of Virginia, but he was also the father of the American sys-
tem of state universities. The official reports of Mr. Pierce were able
and convincing, and his recommendations were promptly adopted by
the legislature. He was a gifted and successful organizer, and for four
years and a half in that capacity Mr. Pierce rendered invaluable ser-
vices to the State and to the cause of education.
45Li/e of John D. Pierce, p. 80.
^Michigan as a Province, Territory and State, Vol. Ill, p. 221.
"Revised Statutes for New York, for 1829, Chapter XV.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 233
Isaac E. Crary was known in public affairs in his native State before
coming to Michigan. Dr. Bushnell, in his lectures on Historic Persons
of Connecticut, comments upon Mr. Crary's public life and then adds,
"He has now gone to help found a new state in the west."48 Mr. Crary
studied at Amherst,49 and lie graduated at Washington College, now
Trinity in 1827.50 He was a sound thinker, a close observer, an able
lawyer, and a close student of sociological and governmental affairs.51
He had devoted much time and thought to the schools and colleges and
had made much research in educational and kindred subjects. The large
collection of pamphlets, papers, reports, letters and addresses by schol-
ars and statesmen, upon these subjects and the collection of college
catalogues made by Mr. Crary and now in the possession of the writer,
clearly show that he was deeply interested in these subjects and that
he was far in advance of his time. He studied the Prussian system of
public instruction before he commenced his great work. Cousin's5-
Digest of that system had been translated and published in this country
and at this time, was being examined and discussed by progressive
educators and thinkers throughout the country.53
Perhaps no man in the territory in 1835 was better equipped to take
charge of the educational interests of the people than Mr. Crary,54 and
the convention, recognizing the fact, readily followed his leadership and
promptly adopted his measures. Traditions tell us that after his election
as delegate, (April 4, 1835) until the convention met May 11, 1835, Mr.
Crary devoted his time in preparing himself for his work in convention.
He made careful research and sought light and information from all
available sources. It was during this .period that the well-known con-
versation was had with Mr. Pierce sitting on a log north of the old
court house in Marshall. Isaac E. Crary laid the foundation of the
public school system in Michigan, broad and deep in the adamant of
the constitutional enactment and cemented it with congressional com-
pacts, long before John D. Pierce entered the educational field. If John
Harvard by donating seven hundred pounds sterling and a library of
"Mich. Pioneer and Hist. Coll., Vol. XIV, p. 286.
^Catalogue of Collegiate Institute, Amherst, Mass., 1823, p. 91.
^History of the University of Michigan, Hinsdale and Demmon, p. 174.
™Mich. Pioneer and Hist. Colls., Vol. XIV, p. 285.
52Victor Cousin was a Frenchman, born in Paris, Nov. 28, 1792, who taught and
lectured in the Sorbonne. In 1831 he was commissioned by the government to
visit cities in Germany for the purpose of studying their educational systems.
This resulted in a series of reports to the minister, published as "Rapport sur
1'etat de I'lnstruction Publique dans quelque pays de I'Allemagne et particu-
lierement en Prusse." They were translated by Mrs. Sarah Austin in 1834 and
spread about the United States. He took part in the politics of his times, was
apparently in sympathy with the monarchy under certain constitutional safe-
guards. The last few years of his life were spent quietly -at the Sorbonne. He
died at Cannes, Jan. 13, 1867. He bequeathed his library to the Sorbonne.
^Report of John A. Dix, Commissioner of Common Schools of New York, 1836-28.
^History of Higher Education of Michigan, by McLaughlin, 150.
234 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
three hundred volumes to a struggling institution — if Elihu Yale by con-
tributing five hundred pounds sterling to another institution — if Ezra
Cornell by giving five hundred thousand dollars to establish "an in-
stitution where any person can find instruction in any study," and if
Leland Stanford by providing a few million dollars to endow still an-
other institution, are entitled to be called founders of the institutions
respectively bearing their names; why should not Isaac E. Orary who
secured the primary school funds now amounting to nearly six million
of dollars, and who obtained the endowment fund of the state univer-
sity now amounting to over half a million dollars, be awarded the dis-
tinction of being the founder, not only of the primary and secondary
schools of the State, but also of being the founder of the University
of Michigan?
While the fame of Isaac E. Crary for two-thirds of a century 'has
been dimmed by the grotesque fabrications, sarcastic abuse and dramatic
ridicule of Thomas Corwin,55 have not his own beneficiaries treated him
more unjustly, and more cruelly than did his great political antagonist
in 1840? Have not the people of Michigan overlooked his achievements
and ignored the fame of her most useful statesman, and by common
accord awarded another the honor due him ?
A casual observer, in comparing the work of these two great men,
might well consider Isaac E. Crary as the architect and John D. Pierce
as the builder of our educational structure. Mr. Crary was more than
the architect, he not only laid the foundation and drew plans and speci-
fications, but as regent of the university, member of the local school
board and as member of the state board of education, he rendered invalu-
able services in building and developing our great university and in
establishing and perfecting our grand system of normal and high schools.
He provided for school libraries and for instruction in agriculture in
the constitution of 1835 and for free schools in the constitution of 1850.
Mr. Crary was therefore both architect and builder. He labored in the
educational field long before Mr. Pierce entered it and he toiled years
after Mr. Pierce had retired.
The influence of Mr. Crary's statesmanship has affected more lives,
controlled more destinies, diffused more knowledge, created more living
institutions, and has advanced and enlightened civilization more than
that of any other citizen of Michigan. Every rural schoolhouse, every
high school building every normal school edifice and every university
hall not only in Michigan, but also in other states copying his system,
and every agricultural college in the Union are the results, and existing
monuments of his life work. Today three fourths of a million of school
population of this State are receiving or are entitled to receive the
55Thomas Corwin, for sketch, see Vol. XIV, p. 280, this series. This attack was
made upon Crary in the House of Representatives, Feb. 15, 1840.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 235
benefits of the primary school fund which he secured for them. To-day
myriads of high school, normal school and university students in this
and in other states are receiving benefits of his policy. Every person,
living or dead who has ever received instruction in any of the public
schools of Michigan or in other states adopting his system, is a debtor
to him. The numberless millions of children and students of the future,
who shall receive instruction in any of these public schools, will be under
lasting obligation to him. Mr. Crary's beneficent purposes, and his
exalted ideals were revealed in his address dedicating the first state
normal school edifice by these words, "I do dedicate this building to
the People of the State of Michigan, and to promote the great cause
of education — the cause of man — the cause of God."56 Shall we not
preserve the perishable traditions of his fame and make them immortal?
Has not his widow, Mrs. Belona Crary Frink, in giving his portrait
to be hung in the capitol, where the present and future generations can
became familiar with the features of the statesman, who did so much
for them, made a priceless gift to the State?
While Isaac E. Crary, as founder of the most comprehensive and com-
plete system of public instruction ever devised deserves to be held in
immortal remembrance, his name has almost been forgotten and his
fame has almost been buried in oblivion. Not a county or a township,
not a city or a village, not a school or a postofifice in Michigan, and not
a professorship in the normal school or in the university he founded
now bears his name. I would not detract from the fame of John D.
Pierce. As an organizer, he deserves lasting remembrance. I simply de-
mand exact justice for Isaac E. Grary. Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum.
The fact that great injustice has been done him is the cause and the
excuse for the argumentative length of this part of the paper.
Let the inaccuracies of the past be rectified, the unspeakable injuries
already done to the memory of Mr. Crary, so far as possible be redressed,
and let future writers go to the original documents for their facts. Ex-
Superintendent of Public Instruction Delos Fall has well said "There
are three names which every teacher in Michigan should learn to pro-
nounce in logical order and with due appreciation of their worth and
the great part they played in the formation of this State : Victor Cousin,
Isaac E. Crary and John D. Pierce."57 Cousin should be honored as
interpreter, Crary as the founder and Pierce as organizer of the Prussian
system of public instruction on the western continent.
When impartial historians shall carefully consider the original records,
and the chronology of the public services of these two great men, and
their respective class of honors shall be correctly determined, the honor
of founder of the public school system of Michigan will be awarded
^Public Instruction of Mich., 1853, p. 80.
"Introduction to the Life of John D. Pierce, p. 2.
236 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to Isaac E. Crary, and that of organizer to John D. Pierce, then and
only then, will ample justice be done the name of Isaac E. Orary. Then
indeed will be fulfilled the prophecy of the eloquent George O. Bates
who said, ''The life and public services of General Crary will remain a
monument to his memory, Avhen all that Corwin has done or said to
benefit the world is buried in oblivion."58
Justice demands that his portrait be assigned to a prominent place
in the gallery of Michigan's most eminent statesmen. Hoping that the
progressive statesmanship of Isaac E. Crary may be recalled, his just
fame may be restored, and his name handed down to posterity, as the
"Founder of the Public School System of Michigan," I leave his fame
in the custody of the State which he served so ably and so well.
PRECEDENTS AND OBSTACLES
The system of uniting the primary, secondary and higher schools at
public expense, and under the state control was not originated by the
founders of our school policy. This policy existed in the Prussian code,
but that system provided for the teaching of the Catholic Catechism to
the children of Catholic parents, and the teaching of the Lutheran
Catechism to the children of Lutheran parents, thus .recognizing the
union of the church and state; while our system was independent of the
church. Thomas Jefferson59 had labored for years to combine these
grades of secular schools under state control and at public expense for
Virginia before our school fathers commenced their work. Thomas
Jefferson was the first educator on this continent to work for an in-
stitution of higher education exclusively under the state government,
divorced from ecclesiastical influence and control. It had long been the
established practice of the sectarian organizers to establish and to sus-
tain denominational colleges as a rule of church polity, to educate their
clergy, their workers for religious purposes and for church extension.
Jefferson endeavored to establish and maintain a university independent
of the church to educate citizens, legislators, judges, executives and
statesmen for national service and progress. He was the first to en-
counter "ecclesiastical opposition directed against the proposed non-
sectarian university," and to meet the prevailing notion that higher
education should be under the control of the church. That practice had
long been followed, and it was the prevailing sentiment of his day. In-
™Mich. Pioneer and Hist. Colls., Vol. XVII, p. 349.
""Thomas Jefferson spent the late years of his life in devising a scheme of edu-
cation which would embrace all the children of his native state'. He was assisted
by his friend Joseph C. Cabell, a member of the senate of Virginia. Cabell car-
ried out all of Jefferson's plans. He induced the legislature to expend $300,000
in the work of construction and to appropriate $15.000 as a yearly support to
the institution. Jefferson personally superintended every detail of construction
and in March, 1825, the institution was opened with forty students. At the
beginning of the second year there were 177 students.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 237
deed that sentiment still exists, and in spite of our numerous popular
state universities, it is a mighty power in the collegiate world.
To-day, obedient to that sentiment, a large number of the students en-
rolled for the bachelors' degree conferring institutions of the country
are in the so-called denominational colleges and institutions founded,
built up, and maintained by religious organizations or private dona-
tions. It will be remembered that in 1817 when Judge Woodward was
formulating his Catholepistemaid or "University of Michigania," and
when the governor and judges of the Territory in 1821 were formulating
their charter for the "University of Michigan," "'for the purpose of edu-
cating youths," Thomas Jefferson and Joseph C. Cabell were laboring
to establish the University of Virginia. Jefferson labored forty years
for that institution, and he is not only the father of the University
of Virginia but he is also the father of the state university system of
America. We are under greater obligation to him as an educator than
as the author of the Declaration of Independence, while the form and
rhetoric of that immortal document were his, the sentiment and sub-
stance were paraphrased from the Virginia Bill of Rights previously
formulated by George Mason,00 (the great uncle of Michigan's first
governor). The American system of state universities was an evolution
from the constructive statesmanship of the Sage of Monticello. At first
these universities were opposed as Godless, sacriligious and dangerous,
and Mr. Jefferson was denounced as an infidel.
Isaac E. Crary and John D. Pierce were familiar with Mr. Jefferson's
struggles in the Old Dominion, and of the charges made against him,
before they commenced their work in Michigan. They too, in re-organ-
izing the university, were compelled to contend with the prevailing senti
ment and establish precedents, of having higher education under eccles-
iastical control. Both were eminently qualified to battle with custom.
As layman Mr. Crary was known as a staunch churchman, and as a
clergyman, Mr. Pierce was extensively known as an orthodox missionary,
and both had the entire confidence of the religious people. Mr. Pierce,
however, after he was appointed superintendent of public instruction
was compelled to abandon and oppose a denominational institution
which he had taken an active part in establishing, to be consistent with
his state university policy. The Presbyterians of the State in 1835 had
organized Michigan College,01 and Mr. Pierce labored earnestly to raise
funds for that institution and was active in securing its location at
60George Mason, for sketch, see Vol. XXXV, p. 605, this series.
"Michigan College, later called Marshall College, was chartered in 1838 and
liberally endowed by citizens of the village of Marshall. It was incorporated as
Marshall College, April 16, 1839. The Rev. John J. Cleaveland, Presbyterian
divine, was president from 1839-1843, and then retired, having brought the col-
lege into high repute both at home and abroad. See sketch, Vol. XXX, pp. 528-
549, this series.
238 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Marshall. The trustees of this college on the 20th day of October, 1837,
resolved that "in the opinion of the board it is not expedient for the
friends of the enterprise to engage in advancing the interests of the
University of Michigan or its branches by pecuniary patronage or other-
wise."62 Mr. Pierce at that time had been engaged on the public school
system for about a year, and had filed his first report the January
preceding, and this resolution was the result. Michigan College was in-
corporated under the name of Marshall College in 1839, and Mr. Pierce
signed a spirited remon-stration against granting a charter. Marshall
College, then under the gifted leadership of the Rev. John P. Cleaveland,
D.D. was a rival of Michigan University. In his first report, Mr. Pierce
disapproved granting charters to denominational colleges and recom-
mended that the exclusive power of conferring degrees be given to the
university, which policy with scarcely an exception was followed for
a quarter of a century. Unlike Jefferson, Messrs. Crary and Pierce were
able to successfully meet and overcome to a large extent the sentiment
and prejudice against a Godless college without being denounced as
infidels and corrupters of the morals of youth.
JOHN D. PIERCE AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS
The achievements of John D. Pierce, as a constructive statesman were
not confined to the domain of education, but were extended into other
fields of progress no less beneficial and lasting. Mr. Pierce was a
thinker, a philosopher and philanthropist as well as a statesman. From
the existing laws and conditions of society, he could reason out new
measures and conditions for the benefit of mankind. He had experi-
enced the anxieties of the head of a family under overwhelming financial
misfortune, when the law permitted imprisonment for debt and allowed
the creditors to turn the unfortunate debtor, wife and helpless chil-
dren into the street without food or shelter, and to take the wife's
property to pay the husband's debts contracted before marriage. His
love for humanity caused him to grapple with the problem and to seek
a remedy for the misfortune. In 1845, standing on the streets of Detroit
with the late William H. Brown of Marshall, Mr. Pierce called his at-
tention to the large number of people passing to-and-fro on the street
and remarked, "All these people have a God-given right to live. If they
have a right to live, it follows that they have a God-given right to a
domicile, to a home,, a place in which to live. If society protects the life of
a debtor, it should protect the home of a debtor, for himself and his
family. If life is sacred, the home of the family, the unit of society,
^History of Olivet College (Williams), 150-155; Record and Papers of Marshall
College in the Mich. Pion. and Hist. Colls.; Public Instruction and School Laws,
1852, pp. 38-44.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 239
the foundation of all government should be sacred. Without a home,
life is not worth living, and good citizenship cannot be expected.
Humanity and patriotism demand that the home should be protected
from Shylock creditors, misfortune and improvidence."
This was the theme of discussion between the pioneer minister and
pioneer lawyer of Marshall for hours. Thus Mr. Pierce was elabora-
ting his measure for relief long before the statute was formulated. He
enlarged upon the principle that a man's home is his castle, his refuge,
his sanctuary and seems to have elaborated from his own brain a method
of protecting and preserving it. The law for imprisonment for debt had
been abolished in 1839, and the statute exempting personal property
from execution, substantially as it now exists, was enacted in 1842, but
the home was still subject to alienation for debt in Michigan. Mr. Pierce
was a member of the state house of representatives in 1847, and he
introduced a bill to exempt the homestead from execution, but it failed
to pass. He was elected to the next legislature, and he again introduced
his exemption measure, and through his personal influence secured its
passage. It became the homestead law of 1848, which was the first
homestead exemption law adopted in any of the northern states, and
John D. Pierce became the father of the homestead exemption policy of
Michigan. This law provided that a homestead of forty acres in the
country, or one lot in any city or village, with a house thereon owned
and occupied by any resident of the State shall not be sold on execution
or any final process of court to satisfy any debt upon contract made
after July 3d, 1848. While the law required amendments to perfect it,
it established the principle and contained the substance of the constitu-
tional provision and law as it now exists. The Michigan homestead ex-
emption law introduced the subject, and it was discussed throughout
the land, and it became the model for many states. Mr. Pierce was not
satisfied to leave the sancitity of the home simply to legislative enact-
ments. He was a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1850 and
was appointed chairman of the committee on Exemptions and Rights
of Married Women. This gave him an opportunity to strengthen his
great measure and to fortify it by constitutional safeguards. Mr. Pierce
formulated, and on the 25th day of June, 1850, introduced as a minority
report of that committee, substantially what now exists as Article XXI
of our state constitution.63 Three members of the committee concurred
in the report. The other four members of the committee reported against
the exemption policy in the majority report made July 17, 1850.64 The
exemption policy having come up for discussion on the 30th of July in
the convention, Mr. Pierce, as the author of the measure, supported it
^Convention Debates of Michigan, 1850, p. 240.
^Convention Debates of Michigan, 1850, p. 428.
240 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and discussed its sentiments and philosophy with great earnestness,
ability and eloquence. Among other things, he said: "The measure now
under consideration is one of great interest to the people of the state.
The subject is one that has come home to every family." He referred to
the Hebrew code, which every seven years cancelled all debts, and to the
exemption of the fee of real estate from alienation; while the creditors
could seize the use of the land for a time, but once in every fifteen years,
the land returned to the owner, as "a code provided for every man and
his family," and with this single exception in the history of the race,
the legislation of the world has been for the incidentals pertaining to
human life rather than for man himself. Humanity has been wronged,
outraged, down-trodden, and the whole care of the legislation has been
bestowed upon property, and its representative, money. Man and the
family have been disregarded and turned out as vagabonds by due
course of law. If anything on the face of the earth needs civilizing, it
is legislation. The spirit of aggressive capital is aggressive. It has no
limit, no boundaries controlling the legislation of the world, it has been
resistless in sway. It never tires, it never sleeps, soulless, remorseless,
merciless, conscienceless, it presses forward regardless of the dying and
the dead. Legislation is beginning to relax its iron grasp and is already
in the process of civilization. So man is above money. In all the
exigencies of business, the changes of fortune are over-turning the affairs
of life. It is just that man and family should not bear the entire burden
of misfortune, and money and capital which are less than man, wholly
escape. Let wealth bear the burden and humanity be spared. The home-
stead should be free, inviolable. No man, no woman, no child, no family
should be driven from the home because the hand of adversity presses
them. The state is bound to protect, not to crush. Free religion, free
schools, free trade and free homes are essential elements of liberty. The
home must be inviolate, or liberty is but a name, and freedom a mockery.
Man without a home is an outcast. He has been robbed of his birth-
right by the strong arm of government under the control of wealth.
Man has a natural right to the free use of the air, it is essential to
his existence. So is water, he cannot exist without it. The same
is true of light. Man would droop and die without it. But the right
to these essential elements is no more clear, no more certain than the
right of man to a place on this earth. This right is clearly inalienable,
To deprive any man or any family of a home and turn them out as
vagabonds under any pretense whatever is tyranny. It is tyranny of
the most atrocious character. A man without a home, what is he?
Robbed of his birthright, he becomes an outcast, and is made so by
law. If society, if the state has a right to do this, it has a right to put
him out of the way, he! with his family have no business to live."65 These
^Convention Debates of Michigan, 1850, pp. 656-661.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 241
extracts show the character of the speech. Seldom if ever has so forci-
ble, able and convincing an argument been made in support of any
measure in the legislative history of the state. The majority report of
the committee was annihilated, and as a result, on the second of August
the minority report was adopted by an overwhelming majority in the
convention, and the Homestead Exemption Law as drawn by Mr. Pierce
became Section XXI of our state constitution. The principle was adopt-
ed for all time. Thus by means of the humane foresight, masterly effort
and progressive statesmanship of John D. Pierce, the sanctity and
security of every home in Michigan was guaranteed by constitutional
enactment. During this historical debate, the honor of being the father
of the Homestead Exemption Act and of the policy in Michigan was
repeatedly conceded to Mr. Pierce.60
In this great effort, Mr. Pierce was aided and supported not only
by the vote and counsel of his great associate in the educational fields,
Isaac E. Crary, but also by his neighbors, Nathan Pierce and Milo Soule
of Marengo and William V. Morrison of Albion, his colleagues from the
county in the convention.
The Homestead exemption policy was adopted by the legislature March
25th, 1848, and it was inserted in the new constitution, August 2nd,
1850. Michigan was the first free state to adopt the measure, and prac-
tically was the pioneer in that humane legislation. But other states,
perceiving the wisdom and benefits of this progressive measure, have
copied our statute and constitution in rapid succession, until now, the
home and the family are protected from misfortune and improvidence
by this policy in almost every state. Pennsylvania and Vermont adopted
this policy 1849; Maine, New York, and Ohio in 1850; New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Illinois and Iowa in 1851; Indiana and Louisiana in
1852; and the federal government in 1862. Many other states have
exempted homesteads by legislative enactments from sale on execution
for payment of debts ; and to-day, in over forty states in the Union, the
home and family are protected by the humane measure, so thought-
fully evolved and formulated, so progressively presented and so earnestly
and ably advocated by John D. Pierce sixty years ago.67
ORIGIN OF THE POLICY
John D. Pierce was without question, the author and father of the
homestead exemption laws of Michigan, and the Michigan policy was
copied in substance by nearly all the other states. But history does
^Convention Debates of Michigan, 1850, pp. 657-6GO.
07 American Law Register (M. S.), Vol. I, pp. 641-765, Vol. X, p. 156; 2 Cyclo-
paedia of Political Science, Political Economy and United States History, p. 462;
Thompson on Homesteads and Exemptions, note 2 of reference; 51 New Hamp-
shire Reports, pp. 252-261, Barney vs. Lamb.
31
242 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
not sustain the claim that he was the originator of the policy. The
principle upon which homestead exemption laws rest is claimed to be
the dictate of enlightened public policy. "The system is an evolution
from Christian impulses, patriotic devotion and wise statesmanship."
Mr. Pierce in his effort was inspired by these motives and not by prece-
dent. It will be remembered that in 1820, Thomas Ben ton opposed the
practice of selling public lands for money and advocated the policy of
distributing them to actual settlers. Said he in the Senate: "The free-
holder is the natural supporter of a free government. Tenantry is
unfavorable to freedom. The tenant has in fact, no country, no hearth,
no domestic altar, no household gods. It should be the policy of re-
publics to multiply their free-holders." This was the policy of that
great statesman in 1820.68 John D. Pierce perfected Ben ton's concep-
tion and policy of statesmanship by making the home of the free-holder
inalienable for the payment of debts, and the Benton policy as perfected
by the Pierce safeguard, was adopted as the free homestead laws of the
United States in 1862, and is now the law of the land, and the "free-
holder hearths, domestic altar and house-hold gods," thanks to the
statesmanship of Benton and Pierce, are safe and beyond the reach of
misfortune and improvidence.
The Kepublic of Texas in 1839, adopted the first homestead exemp-
tion law on this continent.60 This short-lived republic has therefore
contributed at least one measure of progressive statesmanship of lasting
benefit to mankind. It was drawn by some master legal mind, possessing
that comprehensive foresight and sagacity which can only be acquired
by long experience and careful study. It is a model, so far as it goes,
that has not yet been excelled. As the first Homestead exemption law of
the land, and as the contribution of a former American republic to
human progress, it is entitled to a place in this paper. The following is
the complete statute:
"An Act, entitled "An act to exempt certain property therein named
from execution." Section 1. Be it enacted ~by the Semite and House of
Representatives of the Republic of Texas in Congress assembled: That
from and after the passage of this act, there shall be reserved to every
citizen or head of a family to this republic free and independent of the
power of a writ of Piere Facias or other execution issuing from any
court of competent jurisdiction whatever fifty acres of land or one town
lot including his or her homestead and improvements not exceeding five
hundred dollars in value, all household and kitchen furniture (provided
that they do not exceed in value two hundred dollars), all implements
^Benton's Thirty Years in the Senate, Vol. I, pp. 103, 104; 2 Cyclopaedia of Po-
litical Economy and United States History, p. 463.
M2 Cyclopaedia of Political Science and Political Economy and United States
History, p. 465; 14 Texas Report, p. 599, Cook vs. Coleman.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 243
of husbandry (providing that they do not exceed fifty dollars in value)
all tools, appurtenances and books belonging to the trade or profession
of any citizen, five milch cows, one yoke of work oxen or one horse,
twenty hogs and one years' provisions; and that all laws and parts of
laws contravening or opposing the provisions of this act, be, and the
same are hereby repealed. Provided, The passage of this act shall not
interfere with contracts with parties heretofore made.
JOHN M. HANSFORD,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
DAVID G. BUBNET,
President of the Senate.
Approved Jan. 29, 1837. Mirabeau B. Lamar.70
The state of Mississippi adopted a homestead exemption law January
22, 1841 and Georgia adopted such an act December llth, 1841.71 While
these acts antedate the Michigan law, a comparison shows that the lat-
ter was not copied from the former. Mr. Pierce seems to have grasped
the principle and to have formulated the law as an evolution from his
own heart and brain. The homestead exemption law is of recent origin
and one of the numerous modifications of the severity of the common
law that has been adopted during the existence of our State. These laws
had noplace in our law reports until 1851. And they had no name or place
on the law digests until 1856. 72 The homestead exemption laws in the
various states vary in amount, quantity and value. Some attach as a
vested right. Others vest upon claiming such rights. Some are secured
by legislative enactment and others by constitutional provision, but all
are based upon the same plan and are intended to preserve the home and
to protect the family as a rule of public policy, and such measures have
the approval of enlightened civilization.
How few realize what blessings they have received and under what
lasting obligations they are to this pioneer citizen of Marshall. Today,
nearly three millions of people of Michigan live in their homes, as their
fathers for sixty years have lived, secure under the protection conceived,
formulated, and obtained for them by the genius and statesmanship of
John D. Pierce. Today nearly eighty million American citizens live in
tranquil and secure homes as a result of the measure of Marshall's
pioneer benefactor. How many who have passed away, how many who
70Mirabeau B. Lamar, brother of Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, the jurist,
was born in Louisville, Georgia, Aug. 16, 1798, and died in Richmond, Texas, Dec.
19, 1859. In 1835 he emigrated to Texas and was active in its movement for
independence. He filled many military and political offices and in 1838 was chosen
president, serving until 1841. During his presidency Texas became a recognized
republic. Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography.
"1 American Law Register (M. S.), 645.
721 American Law Register (M. S.), 642.
244 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
are residents of foreign provinces adopting his system, and how many
generations to come, are and will be his beneficiaries! He rescued the
home, that pound of flesh nearest the heart, from the power of the soul-
less, heartless, exacting creditor. This homestead exemption policy has
developed more resources, added more production, accumulated more
wealth, secured more patriotic free-holders and at the same time has
caused more tranquility, avoided more anxiety and produced more
happiness in our country than any other measure. Time would be too
short to enumerate all its blessings. John Howard Paine embalmed the
home sentiment in song, "Home, Sweet Home," which has immortalized
the author. John D. Pierce enshrined the home itself with all its senti-
ments, with all its shrines and with all its household gods in protecting
statutes and in shielding constitutional enactments, which together
with his achievements for education, should immortalize his name as
the guardian statesman of the home, the family and the school.
MARSHALL MEN IN NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Small causes sometimes produce great results, and local events often
project forces that destroy institutions and revolutionize nations. Such
an event occurred in Marshall, January 26, 1847. An attempt will bs
made to glance at that event, state the issue therein joined, mention
some of the parties, designate some of the fields of contest, and trace
it to its final results. It will be remembered that African slavery then
existed under the laws of fifteen states of the Union, recognized by the
Federal Constitution as it then existed, and was protected by the
Fugitive Slave Law of 1793. The Mexican war, brought on and prose-
cuted to extend slave territory, was in progress, and that Wilmot Pro-
viso, a measure to limit slave territory, was then pending and being de-
bated in Congress. The federal government was in control of the slave
power. Lewis Cass was seeking the nomination for President from the
Democratic party and was endeavoring to win the support of the slave
states. The underground railroad extending from Mason and Dixon's
line to Canada, under the management of slave-hating Quakers and
liberty loving Puritans, was in active operation ; transportation for
fugitive slaves was free. Such were the conditions when the drama
herein outlined was enacted.
Adam Crosswhite, his wife and four children born in Kentucky, and
one child born in Michigan, had for some time been living in a little
cottage on East Mansion street in Marshall near the outskirts of the
village. The parents and the four older children were fugitive slaves
and under the laws of Kentucky, were the property of one Francis Gilt-
ner of Carroll County, that State, while the youngest child born in
Marshall was free under the laws of Michigan. Crosswhite was a
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 245
mulatto, his mother a slave and his father, his first master. He was
tall, a man of marked physique, intelligent, industrious and a good
citizen. He had purchased his home and was paying for it by install-
ments. If not the original George Harris of Uncle Tom's Cabin, he
belonged to the same type of manhood and he had made many friends
in the little hamlet. About forty colored people, some slave and some
free-born then lived in the village. Rumors had been afloat and fears
had been entertained that this family would be kidnapped or captured
and returned to bondage, which resulted in an understanding between
Mr. Cross white and his friends that should such an attempt be made,
he should fire a gun as an alarm and that all should be on the alert.
In December, 1846, a young man by the name of Francis Troutman
came to Marshall as a stranger and claimed to be a lawyer looking for
a desirable location. He remained in town some time, and a suspicion
was aroused that he was a slave-hunter on the track of fugitive slaves
from labor. These apprehensions disturbed the tranquility of the little
Puritan village, and developments were awaited in feverish solicitude.
On the 26th of January, 1847, about four oclock in the morning,
Francis Troutman, David Giltner, Franklin Ford, and John S. Lee of
Kentucky, heavily armed, and Harvey M. Dixon of Marshall, a deputy
sheriff went to the Crosswhite home to seize the family under the
Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 and return them to bondage. It was long
before the light of day, but Adam Crosswhite was on guard, and seeing
the would-be captors approaching, he fired the signal shot, "heard
'round the world," and stood sentinel at the door. He refused to submit
to arrest, and his wife refused to open the barricaded door. The slave-
hunters broke open the door by force, and hunting out the terrified
children from their hiding places, were hurrying to drag them away.
Meanwhile, in response to the signal shot, friends and neighbors, white
and black, by the scores were rushing to the spot "like Clan-Alpine
warrior from Scottish heath at the signal whistle of Roderick Dhu," and
surrounded pursuer and pursued alike. Moses Patterson, the colored
auction bell-ringer of the village on horse at the utmost speed galloped
through the streets frantically ringing his bell and shouting the alarm.
The whole village was at once aroused. The response was so quick,
so spontaneous and so overwhelming, that the slave-hunters were dis-
concerted; they hesitated and stood at bay in the presence of two hun-
dred or more determined freemen. No further efforts were made to take
the family away ~by force, and resort was had to arguments.
Here commenced the final battle between slavery and freedom. Here
met the Cavalier and Puritan, here the sleeping influences were aroused
and here the passive forces were unfettered, vivified and put into action,
246 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
which continued the irrepressible conflict in different forms, and on
different fields, in an unbroken succession until the final triumph.
Francis Troutman, the champion of slavery led the forensic attack,
and demanded that the citizens should disperse, and that he should
be permitted to take the parents and the four older children, back to
Kentucky, citing the Federal Constitution and statutes as his legal
authority to do so; and making no claim to the child born in Michigan,
but he proposed to tear it from its mother's breast and leave it without
parental care. This demand and appeal from the spokesman for the
master was responded to in various ways by the numerous spokesmen
for the slaves. Some responded with defiant sneers, derisive personalities,
sarcastic ridicule and howls of contempt. Some replied that slavery was
a local system and did not exist in Michigan and that under the ordi-
nance of 1787, and the state constitution the parents and children were
free. Some answered that the Federal Constitution and the Fugitive
Slave law of 1787 did not apply and gave no authority to kidnap their
citizens. Some declared that these persons had a God-given right to
freedom, which no human law could take away. While other vehemently
proclaimed law or no law, these citizens should not be dragged back
to bondage. All were united m this purpose that these slaves should
not be taken back to Kentucky.
Resolutions were discussed, offered and rejected or adopted as if in
a New England town meeting, until late in the morning. No actual
force was used and no personal violence was inflicted. Undoubtedly
this was due to the fact that Gen. Gorham, Dr. Comstock, Messrs. Cook,
Hurd, Easterly, Ingersoll and other citizens of commanding influence
while earnestly endeavoring to persuade the slave-hunters to abandon
their efforts to seize and remove the fugitives and thereby avoid oc-
casion for violence and blood-shed, counseled moderation and kept more
impulsive citizens under control. Had it not been for their presence
and disapproval, the men from the south, without doubt would have
been decorated with tar and feathers and furnished with free transporta-
tion out of town on a rail, as was proposed by some. How this kind-
ness was requited will hereafter appear.
During the discussion, a colored man attempted to enter the house,
and Troutman standing at the door, drawing a pistol drove him back.
Complaints were made against the Kentucldans for breaking down the
door, and against Troutman for drawing a deadly weapon, before
Randal Hobart, a justice of the peace. They were arrested and led from
the fugitives' door to answer the charges, and the fugitive slaves were
left among their friends.
On the hearing of the case, John Van Arman,73 the celebrated criminal
73See sketch, Vol. XI, pp. 281-286.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 247
lawyer then residing in Marshall, volunteered to plead the bondsman's
case. The cowardly attack at night, the curse of slavery, the gifts of
freedom, and the proposition to tear the mother's breasts from the lips
of the babe, furnished ample themes and inspiration for the gifted ad-
vocate. His eloquence and his scathing arraignment of the defendants
has seldom been equalled. The defendants were convicted and fined, and
Troutman was held for trial in the higher court. That day's experi-
ence convinced these men that Marshall was in earnest and without
unnecessary delay they left for home.
Upon the removal of the slave-hunters from their midst, the crowd
dispersed and the fugitives dropped out of sight. Under the guidance
of George Ingersoll, they were piloted to the stone mill in the south-
eastern part of the village then carried on by him, and were secreted
in the garret during the day. Isaac Jacobs, the colored hostler at the
Marshall House, hired a team and covered conveyance of William W.
Smith, and George Ingersoll, and Asa B. Cook saw the family carefully
stowed away in the conveyance and between nine and ten o'clock that
evening started for Jackson. The next train for Detroit left Marshall
early in the morning. It was arranged that the fugitives should be in the
background at Jackson when the train arrived, and that Mr. Ingersoll
should be on the train. If the slave-holders were not aboard he would
be standing on the rear platform of the train, which was to be a signal
for the family that the coast was clear and that they should board the
train. The tall figure of George Ingersoll was stationed on the rear
platform of the train the next morning as the train pulled into Jackson.
The fugitive family was secreted in the wood-yard, and seeing the
auspicious signal, boarded the train. Mr. Crosswhite paid for the con-
veyance to Jackson and the fare for himself and family on the car to
Detroit, out of money he had accumulated. On taking the train at
Marshall, Mr. Ingersoll who was an out-spoken Abolitionist, ascertained
that Henry A. Tillotson, a Cass Democrat holding the position under the
democratic state administration, was in charge of the train as con-
ductor. He feared that the conductor would thwart his plans. Observ-
ing A. O. Hyde of Marshall, an Anti-slavery Whig on the train, he dis-
closed his plan and fears to him. Mr. Hyde advised taking the con-
ductor into their confidence, and requesting him to collect fare, ask
no questions and keep mum. This was faithfully carried out, and tlie
Abolitionist, WTiig, and Democrat, all citizens of Marshall, defied the
inhuman fugitive law, and risked its penalties to help the slave to secure
his liberty. George Ingersoll as guardian and liberator, led the way
and guided the foot-steps of Adam Crosswhite and family until he saw
them safely landed beneath the British flag of Canada, where their
shackles dropped off.
248 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The excitement in Marshall subsided, and business was resumed. But
the drama proposed to be acted, and the object lesson of the heartless
cruelty and inhumanity of African slavery could not be forgotten, nor
could its influence be overcome. The liberty-loving sentiment of the
community was aroused. Convictions ripened into purpose, and pur-
pose ripened into active determination to limit and destroy the curse.
The bafflled and enraged' slave-hunters returned to Kentucky, and were
received as heroes and martyrs. Public meetings were held, their in-
sults and treatment were rehearsed, the citizens of Marshall were de-
nounced on the platforms, and in resolutions as Abolitionists, traitors
and barbarians; Carroll County and the whole south was aroused to
the highest pitch of frenzy. The proceedings of these public meetings,
and pamphlets relating to the incidents of the "Abolition Mob" at Mar-
shall, in extravagant terms were widely distributed, pro-slavery books
were written in the most inflammatory language and were sent all over
the south. The matter was laid before the legislature of Kentucky
and Francis Troutman made affidavit of his version of the Abolition mob
of Marshall, which was referred to the committee on Federal Relations.
This committee took the matter under consideration, and on the 1st of
March, 1847, made a report containing a finding of facts, resolutions
denouncing the citizens of Marshall, asking redress from the legislature
of Michigan, and requiring the Senators and Representatives of Ken-
tucky in Congress to secure the passage of a more stringent fugitive
slave law, with the severest penalties under the Constitution. The
report was adopted and sent to the Governor of Michigan, and to Henry
Clay and his colleagues in Congress. This report was the first legisla-
tive demand for the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Pursuant to the man-
date of the legislature of Kentucky, issued on the exaggerated state of
facts at Marshall set forth in the affidavit of Francis Troutman, Henry
Clay brought forth the fugitive slave law of 1850 as a part of the com-
promise scheme. Seldom has the action of a state legislature been so
fruitful of foreseen, and farreaching results. Therefore the said re-
port and affidavit inserted in full at this point:
REPORT AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL RELATIONS
"The committee on Federal Relations to whom was referred the pro-
ceedings of a meeting of the people of the counties of Trimble and
Carroll, in relation to a recent Abolition mob in the town of Marshall
in the state of Michigan, have had the same under consideration and
submit the following report : It appears to the satisfaction of the com-
mittee that one Francis Troutman was employed as agent and attorney
in fact for Francis Giltner of the county of Carroll, to go to said town
of Marshall in the state of Michigan to reclaim, take and bring back
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 249
to the state of Kentucky certain fugitives and run-away slaves, the
property of said Giltner; and said Troutman proceeded under the au-
thority thus given him, to the said town of Marshall for the purpose
of reclaiming and bringing home to the owner the slaves aforesaid;
and whilst endeavoring to arrest said slaves, a mob composed of free
negroes, run-away slaves and white men to the number of two to three
hundred, forbade said Troutman and those who accompanied him for
that purpose to arrest and take into their possession the slaves aforesaid,
and by their threats, riotous and disorderly conduct did prevent Trout-
man and those who accompanied him for the purpose, from taking into
their possession the slaves aforesaid. Your committee regret that the
citizens of the town of Marshall in the State aforesaid, have thus acted
and conducted themselves; such conduct and such outrages committed
upon the rights and citizens of the state of Kentucky, or any other
state in the Union, must necessarily result in great mischief, and are
well calculated and must, if persisted in by the citizens of Michigan or
any other free state in the Union terminate in breaking up and destroy-
ing the peace and harmony, that is desirable by every good citizen of
all of the states of the Union, should exist between the several states,
and is in violation of the laws of the United States and the constitu-
tional rights of the citizens of the slave states. The affidavit of said
Troutman is appended to this report and made part hereof, marked
(A) Wherefore,
Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the commonwealth of
Kentucky, That the legislature of the state of Michigan be and is hereby
respectfully, but earnestly requested to give the subject consideration
which its importance demands, and to take such action thereon as in
•the judgment of said legislature, is deemed proper and right, with a
view to maintain that peace, amity and good feeling which ought to
exist between the citizens of the states of Michigan and Kentucky and
for the purpose of enabling the citizens of Kentucky to reclaim their
run -a way and fugitive slaves to the state of Michigan.
Kesolved further, That our senators and representatives in Congress
be requested to turn their attention to the subject embraced in the fore-
going report and resolution, and urge upon the consideration of Con-
gress the importance of passing such laws as will fully enable the citi-
zens of the state of Kentucky and other slave states, to obtain and
reclaim their slaves that may run away to the free or non-slave-holding
states of the Union; that they also declare by said laws the severest
penalty for their violation that the Constitution of the United States
will tolerate.
Resolved, That the governor be requested to forward to the governor
of the state of Michigan a copy of foregoing report and resolutions with
250 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the request that he submit the same to the legislature of his state, for
its consideration and action ; that he also forward a copy of the same to
each of our senators and representatives in Congress.
Approved March 1, 1847.
(A) The Affidavit of Francis Troutman.
The affiant states that as the agent and attorney of Francis Giltner,
of Carroll County, Kentucky, he proceeded to the town of Marshall
in the county of Calhoun, and state of Michigan, and in company with
the deputy sheriff and three Kentuckians, on the morning of the 27th
of January, went to the house in which he found six fugitive slaves, the
property of Giltner. The slaves were directed to accompany us to the
office of a magistrate; some of them were preparing to obey the sum-
mons, but before the affiant could get them started, he was surrounded
by a mob, which by its violent threats, menaces and assaults, prevented
the removal of the slaves to the office of the magistrate. Affiant di-
rected the sheriff time after time, to discharge his duty, and he as often
made an effort to do so; but so great was the excitement and violence
of the mob, that the officer was afraid to seize the slaves. Resolutions
were offered by some of the influential citizens of the town which were
calculated greatly to excite and encourage the negroes and abolition
rabble, who constituted a part of the mob. The negroes engaged in the
mob were estimated at from forty to fifty, many of whom are fugitive
slaves from Kentucky as affiant was informed and believes. The num-
ber of persons engaged in the mob were variously estimated at from
two to three hundred. All the resolutions offered by those engaged in
the mob were sustained by general acclamation; many of the mob
pledged their lives to sustain them, and at the same time had gunsr
clubs and other weapons in their hands, with which to execute their
purposes. Affiant contended for some hours with the mob, and still
insisted on "taking the slaves before the magistrate for trial, but the
influential men in the mob told affiant that there was no need of a
trial, and that any further attempt to remove the slaves would jeopard-
ize the lives of all who might make such an attempt, and they were de-
termined to prevent affiant from removing the slaves from town, even
if he proved his right to do so; they stated further that public was
opposed to southerners reclaiming fugitive slaves, and that although
the law was in our favor, yet public sentiment must supercede the law
in this and in similar cases. Affiant then called upon some of the most
active members of the mob to give him their names, and inform him
if they considered themselves responsible for their words and actions
on that occasion. They promptly gave their names to affiant, and he
was told to write them in capital letters and bear them back to Ken-
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 251
tucky, the land of slavery, as evidence of their determination to persist
in the defense of a precedent already established.
The following resolution was offered:
Resolved, That these Kentuckians shall not remove from this place
these (naming the slaves) by moral, physical or legal force. It was
carried by general acclamation. Affiant then directed the sheriff to
summon those leading men in the mob to assist in keeping the peace ; he
did so, but they refused their aid, and affiant understood them to say that
they would assist in preventing the arrest of the slaves. A consultation
was then held by eight or ten of the mob, out some distance from the
main crowd, as to whether affiant might take the slaves before a magis-
trate ; the decision was in the negative, and the following resolution was
then offered : Resolved, That these Kentuckians shall leave the town in
two hours; (sx)me penalty in event of failure to do so was attached,
which affiant does not recollect). It was sustained by the unanimous
vote of the mob. A warrant for trespass was then issued and served
upon the sheriff, affiant and company. We stood trial. The magistrate,
who was an Abolitionist, fined us f 100. A warrant was then taken out
against affiant for drawing a pistol upon a negro and telling him to stand
back when said negro was making an attempt to force himself upon
affiant and into the house where affiant had the slaves. On trial, affiant
proved his agency and that the slaves were the property of Giltner, for
whom he was acting as agent, yet the court recognized the affiant to
appear at the next circuit court for trial. Many were the insults offered
the affiant by the leading men of the mob, who informed him at the
same time that it was just such treatment that a Kentuckian deserves,
when attempting to recapture a slave, and that they intended to make
an example of him that others might take warning. That there had been
attempts by slave-holders to reclaim slaves in their town, but that they
had always been repulsed and always shall be. The insults offered affiant
as a private individual, were treated with contempt, but such as were
offered him as a Kentuckian, during the time of the mob and progress
of two days trial which succeeded, were resented in such a manner as
this affiant believed the honor, dignity and independence of a Kentuck-
ian demanded. Given under my hand this 15th day Febr., 1847.
F. TROUTMAK
(Franklin County seal.)
Personally before the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace for said
county, this day came the above named Francis Troutman, who made
oath in due form of law, to the truth of the statement set forth in the
foregoing affidavit. Given under my hand this 15th day of February,
1847.
H. WINQATE, J. P."
252 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Acts of Kentucky Legislature for 1846-7 (published by the state
printer, pages 385-6-7 and 8).
In connection with Troutman's affidavit, the version of the affair by
Gen. Charles T. Gorhain (1872) and William P. Hobart (1908) are also
inserted.
Hon. Charles T. Gorham:
During the winter of 1847, there stood on the property now owned
by Mr. James T. Downs, in the eastern part of the city, a humble dwell-
ing. The house was located near a grove. A colored family occupied
the place. The history of that family forms the subject of this sketch^
Adam Crosswhite was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, October
17, 1799. His father was, under the laws of that State, his master,
his mother being, at the time of his birth, a slave. At an early age,
Adam was given by his father to his half-sister, as a servant. Miss
Crosswhite afterwards married Ned Stone, a notorious slave-dealer,
who if not the original Simon Legree of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" might
have been, so similar were his life and character to those so graphically
portrayed by Mrs. Stowe. Stone retained possession of the boy Adam
for a time and then sold him to a man named Troutman for $200. When
twenty years of age, the boy was traded off to one Frank Giltner, who
lived in Carroll County, and with whom he stayed until forty-five years
of age. When twenty-two Adam married, and at the age of forty-five
was the father of seven children. At that time he became aware of
Giltner's intentions to sell a portion of his family. Watching his op-
portunity, he obtained a skiff and with his family, pushed off for Madi-
son, Indiana. There he was received by the underground railroad
managers and sent north. At Newport, Indiana, the pursuers came
upon the party, by that time swollen into a flock of twenty. The fugi-
tives were hidden by Quakers and protected for many days.
An incident is related of how a young Friend disconcerted the hunt-
ers. He represented himself as a slave-hunter and gained their confi-
dence. Assuring them that he knew of the hiding place, he took the
party, just at night, into a dense swamp, and leaving them on some
slight pretext, failed to return. The party was lost in the woods all
night, thereby relieving the poor slaves of considerable anxiety.
Crosswhite was compelled to leave his wife and two children at this
place and push on. His experieace from Indiana into Michigan, and
his wife's experience five weeks later, might be written up to form an
interesting book. Such is a rapidly traced history of the occupants
of the little house abo.ve referred to. Crosswhite was known as an
industrious, quiet man. He had paid a portion of the purchase price
for his place.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 253
Early in the winter of 1846-47, there came to Marshall a young man
who represented himself as a lawyer. He did not make known his
business, but strayed through the town as if undecided about his
permanent residence here. There was at that time residing here a man
named Harvey Dixon, a deputy sheriff, whom the stranger seemed to
take an interest in. Evidently some work was to be done and Dixon
was the chosen tool. The stranger was Francis Troutman, grandson
of the former owner of Adam Crosswhite and his business in Marshall
was to recover the fugitives. He had obtained a knowledge of their
whereabouts through a friend to whom it chanced (to what a remote
cause do Ave trace great events) Mrs. Crosswhite had unwittingly reveal-
ed her history. Troutman was uncertain of the identity of all the children
and employed Dixon to impersonate a census collector and ascertain
the required facts. This Dixon did, it is alleged for the modest sum
of five dollars.
In the meantime it became noised about so as to reach Crosswhite,
that a systematic attempt was to be made to carry the family off.
Troutman and three as dark brown rascals as one would care to meet,
arranged with a liveryman to have a team ready on a given night at
12 o'clock. The liveryman left word at the stable that the horses
were not to be sent until he gave orders. Orders were not given until
towards morning. Crosswhite was prepared to meet his enemies. It
was understood that a gun was to be the signal for the assembling of
his friends. Early in the morning before it was light, Crosswhite saw
the team coming towards his house. He fired a gun in the air and
awaited outside his house for the approach of the men. There were four
in the party. Mrs. Crosswhite answered the summons to open the
door with a stout refusal to do so. Two men then sought to persuade
Crosswhite to go with them, saying that they had come to arrest them
and wanted him at the justice's office down town. They offered to carry
him and his family to the office in a wagon. This subterfuge did not
work. In the meantime about two hundred persons had assembled and
were ridiculing the slave-hunters. The four men were armed to the
teeth, but were too cowardly to use forcible means to take the run-
aways. Troutman said there was one child he did not want, but the
rest he demanded, as they were fugitive slaves. This speech was re-
ceived with laughter by the crowd. When it was understood that it
was proposed to take the mother and leave the infant, the crowd may
have used threats against the four men, but that is a disputed point.
Later in the morning, Charles T. Gorham, Jarvis Hurd, O. C. Coin-
stock, Jr., and others went to the scene of trouble. They took no part
in the proceedings, but listened to the harangue of Troutman, who was
offering resolutions to the effect that "as law-abiding citizens," the
254 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
people would not interfere with his taking Crosswhite off. The fact of
their presence was enough to satisfy Troutman. He obtained their
names.
Finally the crowd went down to the Marshall House. Crosswhite ap-
peared on the streets and was advised to prosecute Troutman. This he
did. The attacking parties were arrested arid fined. Mr. Van Arman
appeared in the prosecution. Later in the day George Ingersoll quietly
obtained funds and sent the family to Jackson in a lumber wagon. At
Jackson, the family entered the cars and were carried to Detroit, from
whence they went to Canada. Troutman and his friends went to Ken-
tucky, vowing vengence upon the men who had aided in the liberation of
the slaves. The vows made by Troutman were destined to be fulfilled,
although it is probable that the loud-mouthed boastings of his party
while here were more for effect then in earnest when uttered. Fate
set her seal upon the acts of the marauding party and followed it with
an unrelenting assiduity.
Troutman related the incidents of his defeat in Marshall to his friends
at home. So indignant were they that steps were taken to convene
a town meeting, the object of which was to insist upon the "observance
of the laws." In due time, the town meeting was held. At it Trout-
man grossly misrepresented the Marshall affair. The citizens of this
place were described as armed ruffians who resisted the execution of
the laws of the country by force. The out-growth of the town meet-
ing, was a county meeting, the object of which was similar to the pri-
mary assembly. Here again the story of the "northern outrage" was re-
peated, with graphic embellishments. With the increased size of the
meeting grew the popular indignation and the falsehoods of Troutman's
friends. Troutman saw that there was no turning back from the course
he had taken and was determined to carry his point by dint of continued
misrepresentations.
From the county meeting, the matter was taken to the legislature
of Kentucky, and there an appropriation was made to prosecute the
leaders of the "mob." Troutman, who saw there was no alternative,
accepted the commission of returning and teaching the cursed north-
erners their duty. Messrs. Pratt & Crary were retained, in fact nearly
all the lawyers and lawyers' clerks in this section of the country were
retained by Troutman. He was a shrewd fellow and immediately set
to work to manufacture evidence to support the stories he had cir-
culated in Kentucky, and upon the strength of which, the state appro-
priation was made. For several weeks Troutman remained in town.
His method of work was to meet some man who was easily influenced
and as*k him if he remembered hearing Dr. Comstock or Mr. Gorham
or Mr. Hurd say so-and-so on the day of the "riot." The fellow would
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 255
partially recollect such speeches. Later at another interview, the fellow
would be positive, and finally he was ready to go upon the stand and
swear to such language. The man Dixon was Troutman's right bower.
When sufficient testimony had been obtained to warrant trial, suit was
brought in the United States Court in Detroit. The defendants num-
bering a dozen or more at first, then dwindled down to three, C. T. Gor-
ham, Jarvis Hurd and O. C. Comstock. The trial began in the latter
part of 1847 and lasted three weeks. The jury disagreed.
In 1848, the second trial began. Prominent democratic politicians
went to one of the defendants, namely Charles T. Gorham, who was
at that time a Democrat, and declared that although personally friendly
to him, they wanted the case to go against the defendants. Lewis Cass
was at that time candidate for president, and the politicians wanted,
"at that particular time," as they expressed it, the south to under-
stand that Detroit and Michigan sympathized with the slave-holding
element. They were willing to prostitute themselves and commit an act
of gross injustice to a personal friend in order to secure the southern
vote. They assured the defendants that, should the case be decided
against them, the Democrats would assist in paying the bills.
The case came for trial and was defended by Judge H. H. Emmons,
J. F. Joy and Theodore Romeyn. After a hard fought struggle, the
case was decided as Cass wanted it to be, for the slave-hunters. The
defendants were required to pay about $1,900 and costs. The men who
were so anxious to serve Cass's interests failed to remember their prom-
ises to help, but in that trying hour, when pecuniary injury was heaped
upon wounded friendship, Zachariah Chandler,74 Alanson Sheley75 and
other prominent men stepped forward and in the name of justice, con-
tributed largely and unexpectedly to the defendants.
The equities of the case were not considered by the court or jury.
As illustrative of the lamentable condition of society in reference to the
question of slavery, and the subservience of northern men to the will
of the south, we state that one of the jurors (a Whig) afterwards said
to Mr. Gorham that it was extremely unpleasant to at least a portion
of the jury to bring in a verdict against the defendants, but that they
had concluded that it was best to do so, on account of the popular senti-
ment.
They knew that the case would be carried to the higher courts in
the event of a verdict for the 4efendants, and if there, the result would
be disastrous. It was better to end the matter in Detroit. The de-
fendants saw that an appeal was worse than folly. Justice was indeed
blinded to their case. There was no possibility of obtaining a verdict
74See Vol. XXII, p. 381 and Vol. Ill, p. 139, this series.
T5See Vol. XXII, pp. 194 and 386, this series. Mr. Sheley married Ann Elizabeth
Drury in 1831 and was the father of eight children.
256 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
in their favor, for at that time defendants could not testify in their
own behalf. The only method of procedure was the impeachment of
complainant's witnesses, and nothing further in that line could be done
than had been accomplished in the two trials in Detroit. The barter
of principle by the democratic element was illy appreciated by the people,
'however. Cass was defeated and Zachary Taylor elected to the presi-
dency.
The case did not stop at the end of the trial. It was written on the
scroll of Fate that the seed sown in the soil of Marshall should bear
abundant fruit. Henry Clay took the case into the Senate chamber and
there advocated the necessity of a more stringent fugitive slave law.
The riotous (?) scenes enacted near the humble cabin of Crosswhite re-
ceived national consideration. The law of 1793 was too lenient. Mr.
Clay took a personal interest in the matter for the reason that Cross-
white was known to him, the farms of Clay and Giltner being near each
other and the circumstances of Crosswhite's flight and subsequent trials
at Detroit being known to him.
The result of Clay's efforts was the passage of the Fugitive Slave
Law of 1850, the most damnable law that ever received the sanction of
the American Congress, and which lies a bar-sinister athwart the
escutcheon of Fillmore76 and Taney.77 The law was the straw which
broke the camel's back. The people of the north would no longer endure
the arrogant demands of the south. The history of the succeeding
years was written in blood. The wave of destruction which grew from
the ripple caused in Marshall swept over the country. The names of
the few noble men who fought the earlier battles for freedom, and the
million brave souls who faced death for the sake of principle are men-
tioned with reverence whenever the theme is broached. The martyrs,
Lincoln and John Brown head a glorious list of fallen heroes, and the
stain of slavery has been obliterated from the Nation's tablet by the
crimson hand of war.
Of the three men who defended their rights before a biased tribunal,
Charles T. Gorham,78 O. C. Comstock79 and Jarvis Hurd all sleep the
long sleep that knows no waking.80
76Millard Fillmore became president of the United States on the death of Presi-
dent Taylor, July 10, 1850. One of the first achievements of his administration
was the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, thereby losing the support
of a large portion of his northern followers.
"Roger Brooke Taney succeeded John Marshall as chief justice of the United
States in March, 1836. In his decisions he upheld and supported the Fugitive
Slave Law.
78Gorham, see sketch, Vol. XXXI, p. 27, this series.
79Comstock, see sketch, Vol. XXVI, p. 365, this series.
^Marshall Statesman, 1893, numbers 18, 19; see also Marshall Statesman, Janu-
ary, 1847, and December 15, 1905; Evart's History of Calhoun County, 1877, p,
23; Life of Zachariah Chandler, p. 75.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 257
WILLIAM W. HOBART
The Crosswhite case
A little over sixty years ago, Marshall, Michigan, was and had been
for years an important station on the "under-ground railroad," that
mysterious abolition organization by whose aid, many thousands of
negro slaves achieved liberty "before the war." For those times, the
Abolitionists were comparatively strong in and about both Battle Creek
and Marshall. I recall to mind that such a man as Erastus Hussey81
and Jabez Fitch82 were open and avowed Abolitionists, Fitch being the
Liberty Party's candidate for governor, in several state campaigns.
For several years, some of these fleeing slaves would drop off at Mar-
shall, and finding employment and not being disturbed, would acquire
holdings on the outskirts of the town until they formed quite a settle-
ment, which was known to the unregenerate as "Nigger Town." To this
negro settlement, about 1845, I think, there came Adam Crosswhite and
his family, consisting of his wife and three or four children. Several of
the children attended the district school. I know that the oldest son
attended the same school that I did. I was a lusty lad of thirteen years
and he was two or three years older. I remember that I struck quite
an intimacy with young Crosswhite, who confided to me under a pledge
of secrecy that he and his family were fugitives from slavery in Ken-
tucky, and having reached Marshall on the "Underground" on their way
to Canada and certain freedom, had stopped off for a few days at the
negro settlement, where finding some old Kentucky friends, and being
offered employment, they concluded to locate. The denizens of the set-
tlement appeared always to be apprehensive as to their safety, as young
Crosswhite told me several times that suspicious looking white men
had been loitering about "Nigger Town," but as they disappeared and
nothing came of their spying, confidence was measurably restored.
One of the characters that infested Marshall in those days was an
old darkey, that from his vocation, we boys called "Old Auction Bell."
As I remember, he was about six feet tall and lame and rode an old
under-sized Indian pony. When mounted he cut a most ridiculous figure,
with his height increased by the tallest stove-pipe hat that he could
get hold of, and his feet just clearing the ground. His business was
to ride through the streets of the town and announce auction sales
or "wondoos" as he called them! Mounted on, his faithful steed, he rode
ringing a dinner bell, at the same time yelling at the top of his voice,
"Auction Bell! Auction Bell! Auction Bell!" until reaching a con-
81See sketch, Vol. XIV, p. 79, this series.
82Deacon Jabez S. Fitch built the Presbyterian church at Marshall. See sketch,
Vol. II, p. 239, this series.
33
258 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
venient corner, he would stop and announce to the atmosphere or to any
one who might be listening, that at such and such place, Mr. Blank
would offer for sale to the highest bidder, the following — and here
would follow a description of the articles to be sold, clothed all in the
rich imagery of the Ethiopian imagination.
Early one morning in the fall of 1846, if my memory serves me right,
shortly after I had risen, I heard the old darkey's bell and he yelling
in evident fear and excitement, "Auction Bell ! Auction Bell ! ! Auction
Bell ! ! !" We were about sitting down to breakfast. My father said
"What in the world can be the matter with old Auction Bell? Its too
early for one of his "wondoos." So we went out to ascertain. As
he came opposite to us the old Auction Bell reined his pony and poured
forth the wildest and weirdest story that it has ever been my fortune
to listen to. I am only sorry that my memory does not serve to render
it in his own vernacular. The upshot of it all was that "The slave-catch-
ers from Kentucky had made a descent upon the negro settlement, and
backed by deputy United States Marshal Harvey Dixon, had drawn
pistols, knocked down negroes, shot at others, wounding some, kicked
in doors and had seized the whole Crosswhite family and were prepar-
ing to take them back to slavery." The old fellow fairly frothed at
the mouth during the recital of his lurid tale.
At the breakfast table, I asked my father if he was going out to the
negro settlement to see the excitement. He replied "No," that he was
the justice of the peace, and as such, a committing magistrate and if
Auction Bell's story was half true, warrants would be applied for, and
that he should go directly to his office and directed me to go to school
and avoid all scenes of excitement.
But what healthy, fearless and adventurous fourteen-year-old boy
could resist such a "call of the wild." As soon as I could slip away
unobserved, I made a bee-line for the negro settlement, and there found
excitement enough and to spare. Aside from the "Hoi Polloi" there
were many of Marshall's most substantial citizens, among them, O. C.
Comstock, Charles T. Gorham, I think George Ingersoll and Lansing
Kingsbury and others whose names have escaped me. The slave-hunters
still had the Crosswhite family in duress, but were surrounded by an
angry and excited crowd, which was not chary in expressing its opinion
or its threats. The central and most important figure was Frank Trout-
man, a young Kentucky lawyer, who was the agent and the nephew of
the owner of the Crosswhites, and possibly a relation of the fugitives,
as their name was certainly no misnomer. Troutman was a tall, hand-
some Kentuckian of twenty-five or thirty years. With him were three
or four fellows of the type made familiar to us later, by Mrs. Stowe,
in her description of Legree and the slave-catchers who chased Eliza
MARSHALL. MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 259
across the Ohio; low-browed, truculent looking hombres. Amidst all
the excitement, Troutman never lost his head. When any of the better
class of citizens came to expostulate with him, telling him that in view
of the excitement and the passion aroused, it would be suicidal for him
to attempt to remove the fugitives; he would take their names and ask
them if they threatened him with violence if he attempted to remove
his property. This of course they disclaimed, but called his attention
to the threat and demonstrations of irresponsible parties over whom
they claimed to have no control. By the time the county officers arrived
with warrants issued for exhibiting weapons in a rude and threaten-
ing manner, assault and battery, breaking into houses and various other
offenses, Troutman had his notebook pretty well filled with the names
of substantial citizens, and what they had said to him under excitement,
and this book was a very important factor in securing a, verdict for
the plaintiff in the case of Giltner vs. Gorham et. al., in the United
States District Court for the state of Michigan. When the slave-catch-
ers were arrested and removed, the Crosswhites were left practically
unguarded and free, and the Abolitionists lost no time in getting them
on the "under-ground railroad" and running them into Canada.
Whenever I could, I attended my father's court when he was examin-
ing Troutman and his men for violations of Michigan law, when at-
tempting to get the Crosswhites. They were held for trial before the
higher court, notwithstanding that in those days, my father was a sound
Jacksonian Democrat though in 1860 he voted for Abraham Lincoln.
In 1865 in reading the debates of the last Congressional Record on the
last fugitive slave law, passed in 1849 or 50, I was intensely amused
to find my democratic father, denounced by a fire-eating southern con-
gressman as a Michigan Abolitionist, Justice of the Peace for holding
Troutman and his cohorts for trial under the Michigan law. The Cross-
white case was simply one of the feverish indications of that inevitable
conflict between the north and the south which culminated in the elec-
tion of Lincoln, the great civil war, the expenditure of oceans of blood
and millions of treasure and the freeing of the slaves.
W. W. HOBART.
San Francisco, March 19th, 1908.
Francis Troutman and his associates, with their own ears, heard the
sentiment of freedom, fearlessly expressed, they had been arraigned
before a court of justice in scathing terms, they had been convicted and
punished for their misdemeanor, and they had returned home threaten-
ing vengeance to fire the southern heart. The people of Kentucky had
also taken an object lesson in public opinion, and discovered a menace
to the institution of slavery and considered means to preserve it.
260 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Troutman returned to Marshall in May; following, not to capture
slaves, but to look up evidence, retain counsel and to prosecute Mar-
shall men for rescuing the fugitives. He exploited the action of the legis-
lature of Kentucky on the affair, and asserted that his state was his
backer, and had appropriated money to prosecute the men involved, to
the extreme extent of the law, and to make an example of them to deter
other abolition mobs. Pratt & Crary of Marshall were employed as
local attorneys, and on the first day of June, 1847, a suit was com-
menced in the circuit court of the United States for the District of
Michigan, in an action of trespass against Charles T. Gorham, Oliver
C. Comstock, Jr., Asa B. Cook, Jarvis Hurd, John M. Easterly, George
Ingersoll, Herman Camp, Kandal Hobart, Platner Moss, William
Parker, Charles Berger and John Smith for rescuing Adam Crosswhite
and his wife and four children, claiming large damages. The first
eight defendants named were among the leading business men of Mar-
shall, and the last four were prominent colored citizens. The declara-
tion filed contained seven counties, and was very lengthy. Separate
suits in actions of debt were also commenced at the same time in said
court by Francis Giltner against Oliver C. Comstock, Jr., Asa B. Cook,
Jarvis Hurd, John M. Easterly, Charles T. Gorham, George Ingersoll
and Randal Hobart to recover the five hundred dollars penalty under
the provision of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, then in force for
''knowingly and wilfully" etc., — obstructing and hindering — claimant's
agent — in seizing and arresting — said fugitives from labor" and "for
rescuing such fugitives." While these penal suits were never tried, and
were afterwards discontinued, at that time they intensified the feeling
of the community. Anti-slavery men began to consider ways and means
to limit and cripple the institution. There always had been a strong
anti-slavery sentiment in Michigan, and an overwhelming majority of
all parties approved the Wilmot Proviso.83 On the 13th of February,
1847, the Democratic legislature endorsed and adopted this resolution:
"Resolved, That in the acquisition of any new territory, whether by pur-
chase, conquest or otherwise, we deem it the duty of the general gov-
ernment to extend over the same the ordinance of seventeen hundred
and eighty-seven, with all its rights, privileges and conditions and im-
munities."84 It will be remembered that the ordinance of 1787 here
83During the preliminary negotiations of peace with Mexico in 1846, David
Wilmot, a jurist practising law in 1834 and member of Congress from 1845 to
1851, offered an amendment to the bill to purchase lands from Mexico, "That
as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from
the republic of Mexico by the United States, neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude shall ever, exist in any part of said territory." It was adopted by the
House *but failed of final action. It was the basis of the organization known as
the Free-Soil party, in 1848 and of the Republican party in 1856. Harper's
Cyclopedia of United States History, Vol. X, p. 394.
S4Laws of 1847, p. 194.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 261
referred to provided "that there shall be neither slavery nor in-
voluntary servitude in said territory, otherwise than in the punishment
of crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." The lan-
guage of the Wilmot Proviso was copied from this ordinance. On the
13th of January, 1849, the legislature again "resolved that we are in
favor of the fundamental principles of the Ordinance of 1787," — and
"we believe that Congress has the power, and that it is their duty to
prohibit by legislative enactment the introduction and existence of slaves
within any of the territories of the United States, now or hereafter to
be acquired."85 These resolutions indicate the sentiment of the masses
at that time. Lewis Cass had always indorsed this old Jeffersonian doc-
trine until 1847. He was then seeking the nomination of the Democratic
Party for president, and wanted the support of the south. On the 30th
of December, 1847, he wrote his celebrated Nicholson letters, and de-
clared that "a great change had been going on in the public mind upon
the subject (Wilmot's proviso), in my own mind as well as others, and
that doubts are resolving themselves into convictions that the principle
it involves should be kept out of National legislation and left to the
people of the confederacy in their respective local governments." This
shameful repudiation of the policy of restricting slavery in the terri-
tories secured the nomination of Lewis Cass for president May 22nd,
1848, but it drove thousands of Wilmot Proviso Democrats from the
party, and caused his defeat at the election. It forced anti-slavery men
to unite on some practical method of restraining the slave power, and
added new force to the anti-slavery cause. On the 28th of June, 1848,
the case of Giltner vs. Gorham et. al. came on for trial at Detroit be-
fore Hon. John McLean,80 a Justice of the United States Supreme Court
sitting as Circuit Judge, and a jury was sworn. Abner Pratt and John
Norvell appeared for the slave-owner, and Hovey K. Clarke, Theodore
Romeyn, Halmer H. Emmons and James F. Joy appeared for the citi-
zens. The names of the attorneys indicate that the case was closely con-
tested, and that it was a battle of giants. But the trial was something
more than a legal battle; it was also a political battle waged in the
court room. If the slave-holder could not recover for his slaves in De-
troit, the home of the democratic candidate, how could that candi-
date expect to receive the vote of the slave-holders in the south. Never
before or since in this State, has such a powerful, persistent and sub-
tile political influence been exerted on court, counsel, parties, witnesses
and jury, as was exerted on this trial. The courtroom and the commu-
nity were .wrought up to the most intense degree of silent interest dur-
KLaws of 1849, p. 362.
""John McLean was the first United States circuit court judge for Michigan.
He held that office from 1836-1862 and was succeeded by Judge N. H. Swayne.
Farmer's History of Detroit and Michigan.
262 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ing the long trial. While this influence, which was felt, not seen, was
exercised to win votes for Gen. Cass in the south, it alienated from him
votes at home. The charge of the court was long and laid down the law
as it then existed. Gerrit Smith came from New York, and volunteered
to argue the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 before
the court, but counsel for the defendants, fearing the effect upon the
jury deemed it inexpedient to have so rabid an Abolitionist take part
in the trial, and such service was declined. The following syllabus of
the charge indicates the rules of law laid down to guide the jury.
(1) "It is under the constitution and acts of Congress only, that the
owner of a slave has the right to reclaim him in a state where slavery
does not exist."
(2) "There is no principle in a common law, in the law of nations
or of nature which authorize such a recaption."
(3) "A parol authority by the master to his agent, is sufficient to
authorize a seizure of a fugitive from labor."
(4) "To make a person liable for a rescue in such a case, he must
act 'knowingly and willingly.' "
(5) "But this knowledge that the colored person is a fugitive from
labor is inferable from circumstances."
(6) "To everyone who mingles with the crowd, it is not neces-
sary that the agent should state on what authority he proceeds. It is
enough that he states it generally."
(7) "And one of a crowd, who interposes by manual force or by en-
couraging others, by words, to rescue a fugitive is responsible."
(8) "But he does not make himself responsible where he endeavors
to allay the excitement and prevent a breach of the peace."
(9) "The agent, in seizing a fugitive from labor, acts under the
sanction of law, no warrant being necessary."
************
(11) "Where a rescue is made by the continuous action of a crowd,
anyone who took a part in the course of action is responsible, and may be
sued with others who participated at a different time in the same
action."
(12) "A female fugitive from labor, having had a child during her
residence in a free state, on an action for her value and for the value of
her husband, etc., on a charge of rescue against the defendants, the court
held, as the child was not claimed in the declaration, the question
whether the claimant had a right to it and a control over it, was not
necessarily involved in the case."
************
(14) l "An expression by the agent of the plaintiff that he should
not pursue the slaves, is no abandonment of his right of action."87
874 McLean, 402, Giltner vs. Gorman, et al.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 263
This is one of the first cases under the statute that was tried, and it
became a leading case. The charge was as fair an interpretation of
the law as it then existed, and was as favorable to the defendants
as the rules of law would permit. The defendant's only hope of suc-
cess was based upon the anti-slavery sentiments of the jury. The law
as interpreted by the court was a revelation to the parties, and to the
people at large. It was quoted and discussed at the fireside, in the
pulpit, on the platform, on the stump and in the press throughout the
land. For the first time, freemen realized that they were made the un-
willing tools of the slave-holder and were compelled by law, under
penalties of ruinous fine and imprisonment to restore the fleeing slave to
his pursuing master. A bitter hatred of slavery was aroused and a de-
termination to limit and cripple the institution was created. On the 12th
of June, 1847, the jury disagreed and was discharged. The trial had
been followed with intense interest both north and south.
The defendant, Charles T. Gorham was well-known, and a man of
wide influence. He had always been a Democrat and a political ad-
herent of Gen. Cass. After witnessing the cruelties of slavery in his own
town and after facing the influence of the slave-power in court, like
Gen. Cass upon the Wilmot Proviso, "a great change came over his
mind," and repudiating the pro-slavery platform of his party, announced
his hostility to that institution. Rejecting the extreme radicalism of the
Garrison Abolitionists, and the nullifying measures of the Liberty Party
of the day and seeking practical methods he advocated the exclusion
of slavery from the territories, as the best means of attack. From that
time until slavery was destroyed, Charles T. Gorham waged a relent-
less warfare with head and heart, with tongue and pen, with hand and
purse, in municipal, legislative, county, congressional, state and na-
tional conventions, at the hustings and at the polls, in private and in
official life, in every practical manner against the accursed institution.
He was ably and eloquently supported by Hovey K. Clarke, the local at-
torney in the case, who had similar political antecedents, tinder their
leadership, Marshall and Calhoun County became an important center
of influence in the anti-slavery movement. A call for the celebrated
Buffalo convention had been made to meet on the 9th day of August,
1848. While these Marshall men did not attend this convention in per-
son, they were ably represented. Erastus Hussey of Battle Creek, a
staunch Quaker Abolitionist, and an active superintendent of an im-
portant division of the Under-ground Railroad, and Austin Blair of
Jackson, also counsel in the suit, and a radical anti-slavery man, had
watched the proceedings of the case from the fugitives' door to the
disagreement of the jury, with a personal interest, and had been in
constant touch, and in frequent consultation with Gen. Gorham and
264 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
his associates during that time, and had been aroused by the Cross-
white affair. It was at the request of Charles T. Gorham, Hovey K.
Clarke and other citizens of Marshall that they should attend the con-
vention, represent the anti-slavery men of this vicinity, and help organ-
ize a national party on an anti-slavery platform. These men attended
that convention and took an active part in organizing the Free-Soil
Party, which was the first national party organized to restrict the ex-
tension of slavery in a constitutional way and eventually to destroy it,
which prepared the way for the organization of the party of Lincoln
years after. The 8th and 16th planks of the platform adopted are as
follows: ''Resolved, That we accept the issues which the slave-power
has forced upon us, and to their demand for more slave states, and
more slave territory, our calm but final answer is, no more slave states,
and no more slave territory. Let the soil of our extensive domain be
kept free for the hardy pioneers of our own land, and the oppressed and
banished of other lands, seeking homes of comfort and fields of enter-
prise in the new world."
(16) "Resolved, That we inscribe on our banner. Tree Soil, Free
Speech, Free Labor and Free Men/ and under it we will fight on, and
fight forever, until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions."
The declaration of independence of Marshall men, made by words and
deeds at the fugitive's door and now enrolled in a party platform, and
proclaimed to the waiting world. Under the leadership of these men,
the anti-slavery factions in Calhoun County were organized and were
induced to support the anti-slavery candidate for Congress. As a re-
sult the democratic candidate was defeated in 1848 and William
Sprague, a Free-Soil Whig was elected. He was one of the Free-Soilers,
who under the lead of Joshua R. Giddings, held the balance of power
between the Whigs and the Democrats in the 31st Congress. As in
1844 the Liberty Party drew off enough anti-slavery whig votes to de-
feat Henry Clay, the favorite son of Kentucky for president, so in
1848 the Free-Soil Party drew off enough Wilmot Proviso democratic
votes to defeat Lewis Cass, the favorite son of Michigan for president.
Had it not been for the agitation, the awakening and the influence of
the Crosswhite affair the results would have been different.
The case of Giltner vs. Gorham et al. came on for the second trial
in the United States court at Detroit before Hon. Ross Wilkins,88 judge,
and a jury drawn and empaneled by a Democratic United States Mar-
shal, was sworn on the 10th day of November, 1848. The case was again
closely contested, and on the 5th day of December, 1848, a verdict was
rendered in favor of Francis Giltner, for the value of Adam Crosswhite,
88Ross Wilkins was the first district judge of the United States at Detroit, hold-
ing that office from 1836-1870. He was succeeded by John W. Longyear. Farmer's
History of Detroit and Michigan.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 265
his wife and four children assessed at the sum of $1,926 damages with
costs of suit to be taxed against Charles T. Gorham, Oliver C. Corn-
stock, Jr., Jarvis Hurd, George Ingersoll, Herman Camp, Platner Moss,
Charles Berger and James Smith, the suit having been previously dis-
continued as to defendants Cook, Easterly, Hobart, and Parker. The
taxable cost of the suit was heavy, numerous depositions had been made
in Marshall ; the depositions of slave-dealers in Kentucky had been taken
to prove the value of this man and woman and their four children and
scores of witnesses had been subpoenaed and kept in attendance at
Detroit during the two long trials. At that time, Roger B. Taney, after-
wards of Dred Scott decision fame, was Chief Justice of the United
States Supreme Court, and a majority of the associate justices were
slave-holders, or pro-slavery men. An appeal offered little or no promise
of relief and the learned attorneys for the defendant could point out no
errors in the rulings or the charges of the court, as the law then existed
which would justify an appeal. The only recourse was to pay this
judgment and heavy bill of costs. Some of the defendants had no prop-
erty, and the financial burden to satisfy this judgment fell principally
upon the defendants, Gorham, Comstock, and Hurd. These men has been
compelled to defray the greater part of the expense of defending the
suit, and ruin seemed certain.
Zachariah Chandler, then a stirring merchant of Detroit, had attended
the trials and watched the Crosswhite affair from its inception at Mar-
shall until the final verdict. His sturdy anti-slavery sentiments were
aroused. His keen political instincts enabled him to discover and trace
the pro-slavery influences brought to bear upon the trial, and being
satisfied that Mr. Gorham and his associates were victims of unjust laws,
enforced by the slave-powers, he called on Mr. Gorham at his hotel and
made his acquaintance. He voluntarily made himself a party to the
suit and assumed a share of the burdens. He promised and afterwards
paid, and raised a handsome sum of money toward the judgment and
thereby relieved some of the defendants from financial ruin. Thus
commenced the warm personal friendship between the sagacious, radical
and rash Zachariah Chandler and the sagacious, conservative and cau-
tious Charles T. Gorham, which continued until death, and which contri-
buted largely to the elevation and influence of both men in political life.
These Marshall men united the enemies of slavery, and under their
leadership in 1849, Charles Dickie was elected to the Senate, Erastus
Hussey, Hovey K. Clarke and Nathan Pierce to the House, all radical
Abolitionists or pronounced anti-slavery men, and Calhoun County had
a solid anti-slavery delegation in the legislature of 1850. The county
took a leading position in opposition to the institution of slavery and
maintained it until slavery was no more.
266 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
As Lexington and Concord preceded the Declaration of Independence
and Yorktown, so Marshall preceded the Buffalo convention, the organ-
ization under the oaks at Jackson and the Emancipation Proclamation,
Appomatox and the Thirteenth Amendment. The sons of the brave men
of Lexington and Concord at Marshall in 1847, were more altruistic
than were their sires in 1775. The sires risked their liberty and prop-
erty for themselves,, their kindred, their posterity. The sons risked
their liberty and their property, not for themselves, their kindred, and
their posterity, but for another, an alien race, a race of slaves. The sons
were braver than their sires. The sires were unknown, disguised as
Indians and went at night when they defied the tyrant's law and threw
the tea into Boston harbor. The sons were known, undisguised, and
went in the light of day when they defied the tyrant's law and loosened
the bondsman's chains. When the voice of tyranny asked for their
names, quick and distinct came the response from one "Charles T. Gor-
ham. Put it down in capital letters and take it back to Kentucky to
the land 'of slavery as a warning to others and a lesson to you," from
another, "Oliver Cromwell Comstock, Jr. Don't forget to put down the
'Junior' as I don't want- my father to answer for my sins," from an-
other "James M. Easterly" from another, "Jarvis Hurd," and from an-
other, "Asa B. Cooke." (Brave men were they.) (In the slave-holder's
declaration filed in court, while the names of the other defendants were
printed in italics, the name of Charles T. Gorham was printed in capital
letters.)
While the enemies of African slavery were organizing and concentrat-
ing their force upon measures to cripple the institution in Michigan, the
friends of that institution were equally active in Kentucky. The con-
stitutional convention of 1849 inserted a clause in the state constitu-
tion declaring the right of property in slaves to "be before and higher
than any constitutional sanctions." The Blue-grass State seems to have
antedated Seward in announcing the "higher law" doctrine. As before
stated, Francis Troutman's version of the Marshall affair had been laid
before the legislature of Kentucky and the legislature had instructed their
Senators and members of Congress to secure further guarantees for the
reclaiming of fugitive slaves. Henry Clay was a personal friend of
Francis Giltner, and being familiar with the whole Crosswhite affair he
took a personal interest in the case. On the 29th of January, 1850,
Mr. Clay introduced into the United States Senate his celebrated com-
promise resolution, demanding a more "effective fugitive slave law."
In the heated discussion of the so-called compromise measures, in their
various forms and phases in Congress from January 29th until Septem-
ber 18th, 1850, when the fugitive slave law was signed by the president,
Marshall and Marshall men were ever upon the lips of the champion
MARSHALL, MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 267
of slavery. Gen. Gorham, Dr. Comstock, Rev. Randal Hobart, and other
old line Democrats were denounced as Abolitionists and negro thieves.
Men of high standing and culture were branded as vagabonds, villains
and robbers. The abusive tirades were repeated and enlarged upon by
the pro-slavery press, and on the pro-slavery stump north and south,
and Marshall became the cynosure of the whole land. This intemperate
discussion of the Troutman version of the "Abolition mob" as he termed
it, was gratifying to the south, but it was consolidation of the free-soil
sentiments of the north. The Crosswhite case, as it has been shown, was
the proximate cause of the obnoxious Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. That
case demonstrated the fact that the less stringent law then in force,
could not be enforced in the liberty-loving communities of the north,
and the arrogant south undertook to intimidate the north with heavy
penalties.
The fugitive slave law was prepared by the most radical pro-slavery
champion. It provided for numerous United States Commissioners to be
appointed, gave them the power of judge to remand men to slavery,
deprived the alleged slave of his own testimony, right of jury trial and
habeas corpus. It gave the commissioner a ten dollar fee if he decided
for the master, and a five dollar fee if he decided for the slave. United
States Marshals were required to make arrests, and if they refused, they
should be fined $1,000 and be made to pay for the slave. The Marshals
and Commissioners could call upon by-standers to assist in making
captures and if a citizen refused he could be imprisoned six months,
fined $1,000 and made liable for $1,000 damages. This despotic law
violated every human impulse and made the usual Christian courtesies
a crime, and in fact made every man, woman and child a slave
catcher at the request of the master. This infamous law designed
to protect the institution of slavery was overruled and produced an irre-
sistible wave of anti-slavery sentiment and opposition, which deluged the
whole land and undermined the institution itself. Public sentiment
was so strong in Marshall in 1847 that the old law could not be en-
forced, and now that same sentiment, more earnest than ever, would
not enforce the new. It was boldly announced in private and in public,
in the press, in the pulpit, on the platform, and on the floor of Congress
that freemen would not enforce the law. The sentiment of the people
was expressed by the resolution of a Massachusetts mass meeting in
these words, "Law or no law, constitution or no constitution, union
or no union, the hospitality of Massachusetts will never be violated by
the delivery of a fugitive from oppression, to tyrant's again." This law
had shocked the moral sensibility of the whole north, it had added new
fuel to the anti-slavery flame, and tended to unite all factions" against
it.
268 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 developed an unexpected force which
fired the hearts of freemen everywhere, and hastened the doom of
slavery. That law caused the graphic delineation of the evils of slavery
in Uncle Tom's Cabin. The author of that narrative had abstained for
years from all consideration of the subject of slavery but when she
learned of the cruel, un-Christian and inhuman provision of the statute
and heard men contend that it was the citizen's duty to enforce it, she
tells us in her concluding chapter that she could "only think that these
men and these Christians cannot know what slavery is; if they did, such
a question could never be opened for discussion," and from this arose
a desire to exhibit it in a living dramatic reality. Thus this cruel law
has awakened and inspired its own Nemesis. The gifted author com-
menced gathering material and perfecting her plan, and in June, 1851,
the publication of that mighty political narrative was commenced as a
serial, in the National Era, an anti-slavery paper published at Wash-
ington and was continued until April, 1852. Some of the personal ex-
perience of Adam Crosswhite and wife in fleeing from bondage are
woven into that story. The narative in the National Era was read and
re-read. Nearly half a million copies were published in book form in
rapid succession, and scattered all over the north and the English-speak-
ing world. It was quickly translated into twenty different languages,
and it has done more for universal freedom than any other, if not all
other causes combined. It was dramatized and put on the stage and
acted all over the north. It revealed the horrors of slavery, touched the
great heart of humanity, and united the people in one common pur-
pose to limit and destroy the curse. Had it not been for the Fugitive
Slave Law of 1850, Uncle Tom's Cabin would never have been written,
and the evils of slavery would not have been thus revealed.
In 1852 the Whig and Democratic parties, both blind and oblivious
to the swelling tide of anti-slavery sentiment, accepted the Fugitive
Slave Law of 1850 as a finality, and promised to enforce it. There had
been for a long time a strong anti-slavery sentiment in the Whig Party.
The writer when a boy, heard Gen. Cass prophesy that the Whig Party
would eventually be abolitionized. This surrender to the slave-power
drove hundreds, of Whigs out of the party, and its doom as a national
party was sealed. After the old parties had made their nominations
and announced their pro-slavery platforms, the Free-Soil Party held
a convention and nominated John P. Hale of New Hampshire, for presi-
dent and George W. Julian of Indiana for vice-president. The platform
contained these planks.
(6) t "That slavery is a sin against God, and a crime against man,
which no human enactment or usage can make right, and that Chris-
tianity, humanity and patriotism alike demand its abolition.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 269
(7) "That the fugitive act of 1850 is repugnant to the constitution,
to the principles of the common law, to the spirit of Christianty, and to
the sentiments of the civilized world; we therefore deny its force on
the American people and demand its immediate and total repeal.
(21) "That we inscribe on our banner 'Free-Soil, Free-Speech, Free-
Labor, and Freedom,' and under it will fight on and fight ever, until
a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions."
The sentiments of Marshall men, as expressed by words and deeds
at the fugitive door in 11847, were here again proclaimed in a national
platform. The agitation continued, but the pro-slavery party triumphed
at the election. The foes of slavery were as yet unwilling to repudiate
old party affiliations, and unite in a national crusade for liberty. The
chastening of another pro-slavery scourge was required.
Slavery had been prohibited from all the territories lying north of
thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude in 1820 by the so-
called Missouri Compromise. This act was copied from the ordinance of
1787, excluding slavery from the Northwest Territory. The Wilmot Pro-
viso followed the same principle, and the principle had been repeatedly
applied. The slave-power determined to break down this barrier and to
repudiate this Jeffersonian policy. A bill was pending in the Senate to
organize the Territory of Nebraska. Senator Archibald Dixon of Ken-
tucky, on the 16th of January, 1854, introduced an amendment to repeal
the law passed in 1820 as a solemn compact between the slave and the
free states. Then commenced the discussion of the Kansas-Nebraska
Bill. Lewis Cass, 1847, as we have seen, in his Nicholson letter, repudi-
ated the principle of excluding slavery from the territories by act of
Congress, and endorsed the policy of allowing the people of the Terri-
tory to determine whether slavery should or should not exist. Thus
the doctrine of popular sovereignty was proclaimed. Under the leader-
ship of Stephen A. Douglass, this doctrine was endorsed by the pro-
slavery party, and in the discussion continued on this issue. The most
earnest debate of modern times ensued in Congress, in the press, in the
pulpit, on the stump, and by the fireside. The bill repealing the re-
striction of slavery passed the Senate March 3d, the House May 24,
and was signed by the President May 30th, 1854. The Democratic
party had thus repudiated the principles of its founder. Then com-
menced the struggle between the friends of slavery and the friends of
freedom in Kansas. The application of the principles of popular sover-
eignty in the territories on the slavery issue, meant force against force —
war between the contending parties actually existed. John Brown was
a product of that struggle, and his subsequent raid on Harper's Ferry,
but a subsequent guerrila skirmish resulting from the war in Kansas.
The bad faith of the slave power, the hot discussion, the bloody struggle
270 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and the bitterness resulting therefrom caused men to seek a practical
remedy — an end of the conflict.
The anti-slavery sentiment in Michigan was intense, and anti-slavery
men were now ready to act. Marshall men took the final lead in start-
ing the crusade against slavery. Hovey K. Clarke, chairman of the
State Central Committee and Erastus Hussey then of Marshall with
others called a mass meeting of the Free-Soil party to meet at Jackson,
February 22, 1854. All who favored the national free-soil platform of
1852 were invited to this convention. Hovey K. Clarke was chairman
of the committee on resolutions and drafted the platform adopted by
the convention. Erastus Hussey was also a member of the committee
on resolutions and a member of the committee on nominations. The
resolutions denounced the proposed repeal of the Missouri compromise
and endorsed the free-soil platform of 1852. Kinsley S. Bingham was
nominated for governor, Nathan Pierce for lieutenant-governor and
Hovey K. Clarke for attorney-general. Numerous addresses were made
before the convention. Halmer H. Emmons of Detroit, afterwards
United States circuit judge, an anti-slavery Whig, was called out for
a speech. He endorsed the platform, commended the nominees of the
convention, expressed the earnest desire that before election day, all
friends of freedom might stand upon one platform, and pledged to resist
the extension of slavery. Mr. Emmons made a powerful speech in favor
of union, which, like the speech of Patrick Henry in the Virginia con-
vention of 1775, carried everything before it and inspired men on to
action. As Patrick Henry inspired "the first general recommendation
for a general congress by any public assembly" in 1774, so Halmer H.
Emmons made the first appeal in a state convention for united actions
in 1854. Messrs. Clarke and Emmons as counsel for the Marshall men
in the slave suit, had been aroused and inspired by that drama. This
speech and Mr. Emmons' influence was a power in bringing about har-
mony and united action all over the State. Seth Lewis, the editor of
the Marshall Statesman, reflecting the local sentiment, all through the
Kansas and Nebraska discussion, contended that it was the duty of
citizens to vote for none but anti-slavery men. Charles M. Bordwell
was elected supervisor of Eckford, and Charles D. Holmes of Albion,
in April, 1854, on the anti-Nebraska ticket, and the Statesman advocated
the union of all anti-slavery men in a new party. A mass meeting of
Calhoun citizens met at Marshall, May 30th, 1854, and under the leader-
ship of Erastus Hussey, Hovey K. Clarke, Charles T. Gorham, Nathan
Pierce, George Ingersoll, resolved : "That waiving all previous party's
preferences we are willing to unite and co-operate with all the friends
of freedom, in an eternal war against the extension of slavery in the
United States." It endorsed the nominee of the Jackson convention,
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 271
approved the mass meeting of the freemen called to meet at Kalamazoo
on the 21st of June and appointed a committee of three from each town-
ship for the purpose of organizing anti-slavery men. Joseph Warren,
editor of the Detroit Tribune during the Kansas-Nebraska debates in
Congress, like his illustrious namesake, Dr. Joseph Warren, in the
Boston Gazette in years preceding the war for independence published
editorials of masterly boldness and earnestness to arouse the friends
of freedom to action, and to unite all the enemies of slavery -upon one
platform and under one party. The influence of the Detroit Tribune, the
leading state paper of the Whig party cannot be over-estimated, in
moulding public opinion. Other papers in the State republished these
articles and supplemented the cause; meanwhile Horace Greely, the
master leader of the political movement was urging it on in his mighty
editorials in the New York Tribune and scattering them broadcast
throughout Michigan and other northern states. Zachariah Chandler,
the Whig candidate for governor in 1852, contributed his Herculean
strength, and traveled all over the State to organize an anti-slavery
party. His influence wrought great results and his political opponents
gave him the sobriquet "of the traveling agent of the new Abolitian
party." On the 25th of May, a ringing call was made for a mass meet-
ting of all the citizens opposed to the repeal of the Missouri compromise,
to meet at Kalamazoo in a mass convention the 21st of June follow-
ing. Men of all parties met at this convention. Hovey K. Clarke was
again chairman of the committee on resolutions and drew the resolutions
adopted. These resolutions denounced the repeal of the Missouri Com-
promise and reaffirmed the Free-Soil platform of 1852. They also recom-
mended concentration of the anti-slavery forces, offered to withdraw
the ticket nominated at Jackson and surrender their organization, as
means to an end, and authorized the appointment of a committee of
sixteen to carry out this purpose. Erastus Hussey was also a member
of the committee of resolutions and a member of the committee of six-
teen to withdraw the ticket.
Mr. Clarke made a telling speech in favor of his resolutions and they
were enthusiastically adopted. The action of this committee under the
leadership of Marshall men, cleared the way for the union of the Abo-
litionists, Free-Soilers, Wilmot Proviso Democrats, and Anti-slavery
Whigs into one organization. Men of all parties saw the way clear and
went to work in earnest.
A call "inviting all our fellow citizens, without reference to former
political associations, who think that the time has arrived for a union
at the north to prevent liberty from being overthrown and down-trodden,
to assemble in mass convention on Thursday, on the 6th of July next,
at one o'clock P. M." signed by more than ten thousand freemen of the
272 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
State had been issued. Charles T. Gorham, Hovey K. Clarke, Erastus
Hussey and over one hundred other Marshall men signed this call and
two hundred citizens of Calhoun County attended this convention. In
the organization of the convention, Charles T. Gorham was vice-presi-
dent, and a member of the committee to nominate candidates. Erastus
Hussey was a member of the committee on platform. The first Republi-
can platform, denouncing the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, de-
manding the repeal of the fugitive slave law, and taking a decisive
stand against the extension of slavery was unanimously adopted. The
committee of the Free-Soil party appointed at Kalamazoo for that pur-
pose, withdrew its ticket nominated on the 22nd of February, and sur-
rendered its organization and the Free-Soil party became immerged
in the Republican party. Thus under the oaks at Jackson was organ-
ized the mighty Republican party89 and it commenced its immortal
career for liberty and humanity. Mr. Gorham rendered most valuable
service on the nominating committee, and especially in bringing forward
the name, and securing the nomination of Kinsley S. Bingham90 for
governor. Mr. Bingham had been a Democratic member of Congress,
and was the only member from this State who had the courage to refuse
to follow the leadership of Gen. Cass and vote for the Wilmot proviso.
He had been read out of the Democratic party for that reason. This
nomination was most fortunate. Gov. Bingham was a man of rare poise,
and as an organizer, harmonizer and vote-getter and political leader,
he never had a superior in the State. As governor and United States
Senator, the state of Michigan can look to him as a model. It had
been expected that Hovey K. Clarke would be the nominee for attorney
general, but the nominating committee concluded, that the name of
Jacob M. Howard,91 a former member of Congress, would draw more
votes from the Whig party, and as that party had not yet announced
its course, he was nominated with the hearty approval of Mr. Clarke.
The nominating committee had a most delicate and difficult duty to per-
form in recommending a ticket, made up of Wilmot Proviso Democrats,
anti-slavery Whigs, Free-Soilers, and Abolitionists, so as to meet the
approval of all factions. This duty was most faithfully and wisely per-
formed, and the report was unanimously adopted by the convention.
While Michigan 'was the first state to organize the new anti-slavery
party, the same causes existed elsewhere, and other states quickly fol-
lowed in her footsteps. The ticket thus nominated was elected by a
large majority in November. The success, the influence and history of
the party thus organized is known of all men.
89See Michigan in Our National Politics, by A. D. P. Van Buren, Vol. XVII, pp.
254-266, also The Republican Party, a True History of its Birth, by Albert Wil-
liams, Vol. XXVIII, p. 478, this series.
90See sketc'h, Vol. XXXV, pp. 475-478, this series.
91See sketch, Vol. XXXV, pp. 462-464, this series.
MARSHALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 273
The Calhoun County convention of the Whig party, to nominate dele-
gates to the state Whig convention met at Marshall, September 30th,
1854, and appointed delegates and instructed them to vote against the
nomination of a Whig state ticket. The Whig convention to nominate
state officers met at Marshall on the 4th of October, 1854. This con-
vention determined not to nominate a state ticket, endorsed the princi-
ples and policies of the Republican party and issued a stirring address
to the Whigs to unite and work to stop the extension of slavery. This
was the end of the Whig party in Michigan. It completed the fusion
of the anti-slavery men in the State. For earnest patriotism, devoted
to the liberty and union of purpose, these men can only be compared
with the men in the Congress of 1776, and in the Federal Constitutional
Convention of 1787. The resolutions of the Free-Soil conventions at
Jackson and Kalamazoo were drawn by Hovey K. Clarke and the plat-
form of the Republic convention was drawn by Jacob M. Howard. The
resolutions and addresses of the Whig convention were drawn by James
Van Dyke.92 As bold declaration of principles, as earnest consecrations
to liberty, as patriotic calls to duty, as rallying appeals for action, as
assurances of harmony and unity, and as pledges to return to the
Jefferson ian policy of restricting slavery, these papers were master
pieces. These declarations of principles and policies were published,
ratified and followed throughout the north. They performed the func-
tions of a second declaration of independence. As the name of Jefferson
is immortalized for penning the Declaration of Independence in 1776,
so should the names of Clarke, Howard, and Van Dyke be immortalized
for penning the second declaration of independence in 1854.
The Crosswhite case set Marshall men thinking and aroused their
love of liberty and hatred of slavery. They were the pioneers in the
movement and did much to give Michigan the honor of organizing the
Republican party, which destroyed slavery. Similar influences were at
work in other states, and similar organizations were speedily formed.
Mr. Gorham was elected a delegate to the Philadelphia convention
in 1856, the first national convention of the party, but by mutual agree-
ment, Zachariah Chandler, his alternate took his place. History has
its curiosities and its paradoxes. From the same exciting cause, Mich-
igan took a bold stand against slavery and organized to destroy it while
Kentucky had become the leading state to extend the curse and to
"Mames A. VanDyke was born in Franklin Co., Pa., a few miles north of the
Maryland line. He graduated from Madison College, Uniontown, Pa., at the age
of nineteen and after studying law at Chambersburg, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md.,
came to Detroit in 1834. He was admitted .to the bar that year and in 1835
formed a partnership with Charles W. Whipple. The same year he married
Elizabeth Desnoyers, who died July 10, 1896. He was in partnership with E. B.
Harrington, Halmar H. Emmons and was general counsel of the Michigan Central
Railroad Company until the date of his death, May 27, 1855. See Early Bench
and Bar of Detroit, "by Robert Ross, p. 205.
35
274 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
preserve its existence. Michigan would make freedom national, and
slavery sectional, while Kentucky would make slavery national and
freedom sectional. Michigan men advocated and formulated a platform
to limit and destroy the evil while Kentucky senators introduced and
advocated the fugitive slave law, and the act to repeal the Missouri
Compromise. Michigan was the first state in the union to form an
effective organization for the destruction of slavery, and Kentucky was
the last state in the Union to abolish it. Michigan was the second
state in the Union to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment,93 and Kentucky
was the first to reject it.
The state ticket nominated under the oaks at Jackson and a Republi-
can legislature was elected in 1854. Erastus Hussey, then of Marshall,
was elected to the senate. Federal officers were accustomed to detain
federal prisoners in the different jails, prisons and penitentiaries of the
various states, and fugitive slaves were sometimes thus detained. The
duty of reclaiming fugitive slaves under the Fugitive Slave Law of
1850 had been granted to federal officers, some of whom, were provided
for that purpose solely. The law was so repugnant to northern senti-
ment, that the people demanded all possible relief from their state legis-
lature, and what is known as personal liberty laws were passed by
many states. The states of Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut
passed such laws in 1854. Erastus Hussey formulated and introduced
such a bill in the legislature of Michigan, which under his leadership,
with the support of Austin Blair, became a law, February 13, 1855.
This law made it a duty of the prosecuting attorney at state expense,
to protect persons charged with being fugitive slaves, gave such fugitives
the right of trial by jury, the right of habeas corpus, and the right of
appeal; and it prohibited the use of any jail, or any prison in the
state for detaining fugitives. It required the evidence of two witnesses
to establish the fact of servitude, and it provided heavy penalties for
seizing free persons. The old-time conductor of the under-ground rail-
road had now become an anti-slavery legislator and he formulated laws
for the fugitive. Maine and Massachusetts adopted similar laws the
same year, Wisconsin and Kansas in 1858, Ohio in 1859, and Pennsyl-
vania in 1860. These laws undertook to restore to the fugitive from
labor under state authority, some of the rights taken from him by the
federal law. They threw obstacles in the way, and made it more diffi-
cult for the master to recover his slaves. Some of the northern states
claiming that the law of 1850 was unconstitutional, treated it as a
""Thirteenth amendment, Sec. I. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude
except as a punishment of crime whereof the party shall have been duly con-
victed, shall exist in the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
"Sec. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis-
lation." This amendment was proposed by Congress, Feb. 1, 1865, and declared
to have been ratified by twenty-seven of the thirty-six states, Dec. 18, 1865.
MARSHALL, MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 275
nullity, and did not pass personal liberty bills. If the federal govern-
ment had authority under the constitution to adopt the fugitive Slave
Law of 1850, doubtless these personal liberty measures were nullification
laws. These laws and the prevailing repugnance to the measure made
it difficult to enforce the federal act. The personal liberty laws of the
north were influential, as hereafter shown, in the action of the south.
Lewis Cass had for many years been Michigan's most distinguished
citizen. In his struggle for the presidential nomination he repudiated
the Jeffersonian doctrine of the Wilmot Proviso in 1847, and had ac-
cepted the untried doctrine of popular sovereignty. This unfortunate
change secured his nomination in convention, but caused his defeat, at
the election. His legislature had twice endorsed the Wilmot Proviso
and commanded his support. But he could not consistently retreat. In
January, 1850, while discussing a resolution favoring the organization
of a territorial government for California, it was manifested that he
demurred to the resolutions of the legislature of 1849 and he intimated
that if the legislature persisted he would resign his office as senator.
Gen. Cass was the idol of his party in Michigan, and on the 2nd of
April, 1850, the legislature passed resolutions requesting the senators to
retain their seats and relieving them from such instructions.94 This
action of Gen. Cass and of the legislature on the slavery question raised
a storm of indignation in the State. His servility to the South had
made bitter political enemies at home. A radical anti-slavery man was
demanded to take his place, in the Senate in 1857. Charles T. Gorham
announced himself as favoring Zachariah Chandler as the man to be sent
to the Senate from Michigan to meet the fire-eaters and domineering
senators from the South. He worked constantly and effectively to this
end. No man in the State did more perhaps, to elect Zachariah Chandler
than did Gen. Gorham. The great influence and achievements of
Senator Chandler in behalf of Michigan, the cause of liberty, and
humanity, might not have been made possible, had it not been for his
influential and efficient friend from Marshall. Under the influence of
these men, Calhoun County always supported and held up the hands of
that stalwart statesman and leader.
As we have seen, the fugitive slave law provoked the personal liberty
laws. The personal liberty laws were in turn to provoke another move-
ment in the South. The party organized under the oaks at Jackson to
stop the extension of slavery had elected Abraham Lincoln, president.
On the 20th of December, 1860, South Carolina in convention passed
the ordinance of secession, and on the 24th of the month, announced
the personal liberty laws of Michigan above mentioned, with similar
laws from other states, as a reason for such action. This reason had
04Laws of Michigan, 1855, p. 413.
276 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
more force than all other excuses combined. Eleven other states fol-
lowed South Carolina for the same reason. Secession brought on the
War of the Rebellion. The war of the Rebellion brought forth the
Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, resulted in the surrender of the
slave-power at Appomatox in April, and secured the 13th amendment
to the Federal Constitution in December, 1865.
ULTIMATE RESULTS
Though young men and comparatively unknown in 1847, Charles T.
Gorham, O. C. Conistock, Jr., Asa B. Cook, Jarvis Hurd, George Inger-
soll, Hovey K. Clarke and Erastus Hussey, in subsequent years, became
widely known and exerted commanding influences. A glance at their
efforts and their achievements in the great social reform of their day
has been attempted. They voluntarily became the champions of the
slave when to be called an Abolitionist was the vilest term of contempt
in political parlance. But their experience was not unique. Other
slaves were captured and rescued in the north. Other communities
released the captive from his captors. Other men were compelled to
pay the burdensome price. Other municipalities were aroused by the
exhibition of cruelty and inhumanity of the peculiar institution in their
midst, and other freeman have bravely toiled, and sacrificed to cripple
and destroy the curse, but I find no other event from which such direct
and far reaching consequences resulted and which aided so much, in
the evolution of measures for and against slavery, and which eventually
destroyed it, as did the impromptu town meeting held at the fugitives'
door in Marshall. Public sentiment was prepared, the time was ripe
for action, the opportunity came and these men embraced it, and began
their work. They formulated measures, organized forces and inaugu-
rated a warfare against the extension of slavery, and continued the con-
test until the institution was destroyed. Who can estimate the ulti-
mate results of their sacrifice and labors? Their names should be
remembered, and their memories should be cherished as brave leaders,
heroes and martyrs in the cause of freedom.
Francis Troutman, the champion of slavery, angered and threatening
revenge, hastened home from that meeting and made complaint to the
slave-holders and legislature of Kentucky. That legislature demanded
relief from the state of Michigan. It required their senators and
representatives in Congress to obtain greater security in their property
in men. Pursuant to this legislative mandate, Henry Clay introduced
the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. That cruel law aroused the sleeping
hatred o£ the North, and brought forth Uncle Tom's Cabin, that political
drama which awoke the sleeping world. The fugitive slave law pro-
voked the personal liberty laws in the northern states. These laws were
» MARSH ALL MEN AND MARSHALL MEASURES 277
assigned as the cause of secession, secession was the cause of the Re-
bellion, and the Rebellion caused the destruction of slavery.
The Republican party formulated the measures, controlled the policies
and assisted by the loyal people of all parties, destroyed the institution
of slavery. The Republican party was first organized in the state of
Michigan. Charles T. Gorham, Asa B. Cook, George Ingersoll, Erastus
Hussey, Hovey K. Clarke, Austin Blair, Halmar H. Emmons and
Zachariah Chandler were among the leaders and most influential organ-
izers of that party. Without these sagacious, persuasive and influential
men, this party would not and in fact could not have been organized.
Each had been interested in the Crosswhite case as a party, counsel or
contributors. These men had witnessed some of the evils of the institu-
tion at their own door, had battled with the arrogant slave power in
court, had spent time and money extorted by the cruel system.
What an experience to arouse hostility to the institution of slavery!
What a school to educate stalwart freemen! These Marshall men, one
and all, have left their impress upon the institutions of our country.
The Crosswhite case influenced the political course of all. Without
attempting to describe the effects upon each party, let its effect upon
one indicate its influence upon all. As a citizen, it made Charles T.
Gorham an organizer, and supporter of the Free-Soil party in 1848, and
of the Republican party in 1854. As a delegate to the Republican
national convention it caused him to vote for the renomination of
Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and for the nomination of Ulyssess S. Grant
in 1868, and as state senator, Minister to the Hague and as Assistant
Secretary of the Interior, on the issues of slavery or freedom, it in-
spired his whole official life.
The influence of the Crosswhite case was not confined to Marshall
or to Marshall men alone. Its influence in the cause of liberty was not
local but national. It aroused the genius of Halmar H. Emmons and
inspired him to fire the hearts of freemen in 1854, and affected his
brilliant career at the bar in behalf of freedom and on the Federal
Bench. It transcribed the inbred love of liberty of Austin Blair into the
Buffalo platform of 1848 and into the Republican platform of 1854. It
made him the great war governor of Michigan, enabled him to discover
Gen. Phil Sheridan95 and send him forth as a champion of freedom,
it trained him to make Michigan a citadel of strength of Abraham
Lincoln in the great crisis. , It educated the fearless Zach Chandler to
defy the arrogant representatives of the slave power in the Senate before
the war, it nerved him to sustain the immortal Lincoln in his super-
human task, it inspired him to wield a mighty influence for liberty and
95Phil. H. Sheridan was commissioned by Gov. Blair, colonel of the Second Michi-
gan Volunteer Cavalry, May 25, 1862.
278 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
union during the war. These men, and men of their type, after the
Democratic party had surrendered to the slave power, in 1854, took is-
sue on the slavery question, and organized a party to restrict slavery,
and in due time to remove the dangerous and irritating curse from the
land. This organization first made Kansas and Nebraska free, in spite
of the broken pledg'es of the slave power and the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise. It paralyzed the force of the fugitive slave law, defying
the despotic demands of the master, following the impulse of Christian
brotherhood, championed the cause of the slave. It grappled with the
hydra-headed monster of secession, and preserved the union. It throt-
tled rebellion and emancipated a race, it removed the irritative curse of
slavery from American policies, and the whole world is glad. Now no
hostility exists between Michigan and Kentucky, the apple of discord
had been removed and both remain under the old flag in fraternal amity,
as members of the same, but a regenerate Union. Truly on that winter
morning at Marshall, Adam Crosswhite "fired the shot heard around
the world."
OTHER MEN AND MEASURES
Time will not permit of a sketch of other Marshall men and measures
of historic value, in the progress and evolution of the State and nation.
Pre-eminent among our influential citizens, I recall the names of J.
Wright Gordon,96 senator, lieutenant-governor, governor and diplomat,
Edward Bradley,97 senator and member of Congress; George C. Gibbs,
representative and supreme court reporter; Abner Pratt,98 representa-
tive, senator, judge of the supreme court and diplomat; Henry W.
Taylor, representative, judge and publicist; Hovey K. Clarke, repre-
sentative, political organizer, supreme court reporter; Oliver C. Corn-
stock, Sr., divine, member of congress and superintendent of public
instruction; Francis W. Shearman, journalist, superintendent of public
instruction and historian of our public school system; Jabez S. Fitch,
the pioneer anti-slave advocate; Charles Dickey, representative, senator
and United States marshal during the war; John P. Cleaveland, the
eloquent divine and earnest educator; Nathaniel A. Balch, the inspiring
teacher, lawyer and legislator; Thomas B. Church, the gifted advocate
and moulder of constitutions; Jabez Fox, journalist and anti-slavery
leader and organizer; Parsons Willard, legislator and governor of Indi-
ana, Morton C. Wilkinson, United States Senator from Minnesota, who
have been influential actors in forming and fostering our public school
system, our exemption laws, abolition of the death penalty and im-
prisonment for debt, securing the rights of married women, the aboli-
sketch, Vol. XI, p. 274, this series.
97See sketch, Vol. XI, p. 275, also Vol. XXXV, p. 472, this series.
98See sketch, Vol. XI, p. 278, this series.
BATTLE CREEK AS A STATION ON UNDERGROUND RAILWAY 279
tion of slavery and other reforms of the day. I am not able to name
all who are worthy of mention. Hoping that some more efficient worker,
and more eloquent pen may record their worth and work and rescue their
names from oblivion, I leave them now.
BATTLE CREEK AS A STATION ON THE UNDERGROUND
RAILWAY1
BY CHARLES E. BARNES2
There is an institution now only known in history as the Under-
ground Railway. This society, or system, as it should be more properly
called, came into existence in 1840 in the midst of the famous Harrison
campaign, and was organized by Levi Coffin, of Cincinnati, a Quaker.
It was a league of men, almost all of whom were Quakers, who organ-
ized a system for spiriting away and conducting runaway slaves from
Kentucky, Tennessee and other slave states, through to Canada. These
men were enthusiastic Abolitionists, who devoted their time to watching
for fleeing bondsmen, ferried them in rowboats in the nighttime over
the Ohio River, and then started them to the first Underground Rail-
way station, thence from station to station until they arrived in Detroit,
where they were ferried over the river in rowboats to Canada — and
freedom. The workings of the Underground Railway were a great
mystery to the people because of the secret manner in which everything
was conducted. Slaves strangely disappeared and nothing was heard
of them until reported to have been seen in Canada. None of the
methods was known to the public. These slaves were conducted from
the Ohio River to Canada as if shot through a hollow tube. This imag-
inary explanation of how the fugitives reached Canada is what gave
origin to the name "Underground Railway."
The main route, known as the Central Michigan line, passed through
Battle Creek. There was another route through Michigan via. Adrian.
Mrs. Laura Haviland had charge of the latter line. She resided either
at Adrian or Tecumseh, and conducted a school for colored girls. The
station at Battle Creek was one of the most prominent centers of the
work in Michigan, and was- in charge of that famous old Quaker,
Erastus Hussey,3 who spent his time and money freely in assisting the
colored people to Canada. There was no graft in those days. The
work was done because of a love for mankind, and a sense of duty from
*Read at midwinter meeting, Albion, January, 1909.
"Charles E. Barnes died at his home in Battle Creek, Oct. 17, 1911.
3Erastus Hussey. Sketch, Vol. XIV, p. 79, this series.
280 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
a moral purpose. Like all Quakers, he would not recognize laws that
sanctioned slavery — they were man-made laws; he obeyed only divine
laws. During the existence of the Underground Railway, which was
continued from 1840 to the isstiing of the Emancipation Proclamation
by Lincoln, Mr. Hussey secreted and fed over 1,000 colored persons,
and then sent them through to the next station, which was at Marshall.4
Realizing that the history of this institution, particularly of the
work in Battle Creek, was of more than local importance, and should
be preserved, the writer visited Mr. Hussey in May, 1885, and made a
record of his story, which is reproduced in his own words:
"One day in 1840, when I was in Detroit on a business trip, a man
by the name of John Cross, from Indiana, called at my house in Battle
Creek and inquired for me. He was very anxious to see me, but would
not tell even my wife what he wanted. My wife sent for Benjamin
Richard, who worked for Jonathan Hart, but neither would he confide
the object of his visit to him, and so departed. I was in Detroit three
or four days. After my return home I received a letter from Cross.
He wrote me that he was establishing a route from Kentucky and Ohio
to Canada through which escaped slaves could be conducted without
molestation and wanted me to take charge of the station in Battle
Creek. This was the first time that I had ever heard of the Under-
ground Railway. I preserved Cross's letter for many years as a relic,
but it is now lost. This is how I commenced to keep the station here.
At that time there was only five anti-slavery men in Battle Creek be-
sides myself: Silas Dodge who afterward moved to Vineland, N. J.;
Abel Densmore, who died in Rochester, N. Y. ; Henry Willis, Theron
H. Chadwick and a colored man by the name of Samuel Strauther.
The colored Masonic lodge was named after him — Strauther lodge No.
3. Other anti-slavery men came afterward to this place among them
Dr. S. B. Thayer and Henry J. Cushman, who built the old flouring
mill opposite Hart's mill. He was an earnest worker. He moved to
Plain well. There was Charley Cowles, a young man who was studying
medicine with Drs. Cox and Campbell. Also that good worker, Dr.
EMA. Atlee, and his son-in-law, Samuel S. Nichols in Jonathan Hart's
store. In Battle Creek township were Harris, William Mc-
Cullom, Edwin Gore and Herman Cowles; in Penfield, David Boughton,
and in Emmett, Elder Phelps.
"Our work was conducted with the greatest secrecy. After crossing
the Ohio River the fugitives separated, but came together on the main
line and were conducted through Indiana and Michigan. Stations were
established every fifteen or sixteen miles. The slaves were secreted
in the woods, barns and cellars during the daytime and carried through
4See "Marshall Men and Marshall Measures," this volume.
BATTLE CREEK AS A STATION ON UNDERGROUND RAILWAY 281
in the night. All traveling was done in the dark. The stationkeepers
received no pay. The work was done gratuitously and without price.
It was all out of sympathy for the escaped slaves and from principle.
We were working for humanity. When I first accepted the agency I
lived in a wooden building on the present site of the Werstein & Halla-
day block (now Larkin-Reynolds-Boos. block) opposite the Williams
house (now Clifton house). Before the present block was built the
old building was occupied as a livery stable by J. L. Keade, and be-
fore him by Parcel Brinkerhoff as a second-hand store. There was the
Underground Railway station. This building was constructed by
August P. Rawson in 1836 or 1837, and when I bought it, it was occu-
pied as a cabinet shop by John Caldwell, our village marshal, father
of James T. Caldwell, the undertaker. I repaired the building and oc-
cupied the front as a store and used the upstairs and the rear lower
end for my dwelling. Here I secreted the runaway slaves. After the
Union Block was built, just adjoining this building on the west (the
first brick block erected in Battle Creek) I frequently secreted them
there. In 1855 I moved to my new home on the present site of the
Seventh Day Adventist College. It was reported that the cellar under
this house was built with secret places expressly for the purpose of
hiding the fugitives. This was not strictly true. I will guarantee,
however, that if any slaves were secreted there that they were never cap-
tured. We did not assist as many of them as formerly, because a
shorter route had been opened through Ohio, by way of Sandusky and
thence to Fort Maiden and Amherstburg.
"I can't tell about the stations in Indiana. The route came into Mich-
igan to the famous Quaker settlement near Cassopolis. The leader was
that good old Quaker, Zachariah Shugart,5 also Stephen Bogue and Joel
East. At Cassopolis, Parker Osborn was the agent. The next station
was Schoolcraft, in charge of Dr. Nathan Thomas. Then came Climax,
with the station a little ways out of the village. I think the man there
was called William Gardner. Battle Creek came next. Jabez S. Finch
was the agent at Marshall and was a gentleman with plenty of means
and stood high in the community and the first nominee on the Liberty
ticket for governor. Of course, he was not elected, but we always there-
after called him governor. Then came Albion and Edwin M. Johnson.
I have forgotten the name of the agent at Parma, but I think that it
was Townsend E. Gidley.6 He was not strictly identified with the
Liberty Party, but always rendered assistance in furthering the escape
of the slaves.
5These Quakers had made a settlement at Young's Prairie, had established a
school and were prospering. A few Kentucky fugitive slaves had made their homes
among them and were highly respected. See story of "Raid in Michigan" in
Reminiscences of Levi Coffln, pp. 366-73.
6Townsend E. Gidley. See Vol. XIV, p. 402, this series.
282 MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"At Jackson were three agents: Lonson Wilcox, Norman Allen and
one that I cannot remember. In the large places we had more than one
man, so that if one chanced to be out of town another could be found.
At Michigan Center, Abel F. Fitch7 was the man. He was one
of the men invo
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